


Safe

by Lemmerman



Series: Love, Obscured By Darkness [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Multi, Spoilers, Teen Wolf 5A Spoilers, Teen Wolf 5B Spoilers, Teen wolf spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-08
Updated: 2016-03-28
Packaged: 2018-04-19 19:27:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 82,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4758119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lemmerman/pseuds/Lemmerman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set during the events of Season 5, the reader is a human member of the McCall Pack. When the Dread Doctors arrive in Beacon Hills, the lives of the Pack are turned upside down, but none moreso than that of the reader, who finds themselves inexplicably drawn towards the other new arrival in town - Theo Raeken.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Werewolf In The Rain

**Author's Note:**

> (Set during the events of Teen Wolf 5x01: Creatures of the Night)
> 
> This is my first fanfic of this nature, and I'm quite proud of the fact that I actually finished it, and I've plucked up the courage to put the finished article out there to the world. I've tried to keep the reader gender neutral, because I don't like the whole (Y/N) insert, which personally takes me out of a story rather than draws me in.  
> This first chapter is a bit more ungainly than the rest, since I really needed to get the reader into the same situation as the rest of the Pack in the show, so a lot of it is pretty much word for word, but it's got some more interior thoughts and outside descriptions going on.

Senior Scribe was meant to be one of those days that you remembered for the rest of your life. Yeah, it was silly, all that build-up for only a second of actually doing something, but it was symbolic, y’know? How even if you and your friends drifted apart, there’d still be a record of the time you all spent together at Beacon Hills High School that you couldn’t get rid of, no matter what.

Of course, that was what Stiles was afraid of. You could see him across the quad, going over the plan, no, sorry, the ‘vision’ with Malia again, flailing his arms around as usual whilst Malia stared at him, enraptured. No matter how many times he went over it, Stiles’ enthusiasm for keeping all of his friends together after graduation was a little bit infectious, and it never died down no matter how much he talked about it.

And yeah, you kind of agreed with him. You’d all spent so much time together as friends, and more than friends – the bond of being part of Scott’s pack meant that you were family, closer than family in some respects. And despite all the times you’d all argued and fallen out with each other, you’d also stood together against things no teenagers should ever have had to deal with, and came out triumphant. Peter Hale, the Kanima, Deucalion, the Nogitsune, the Benefactor, Peter Hale (again), you and your friends had stood against it all, and won. Victories like that, won alongside your friends, had to count for something.

Granted, you hadn’t come out of it all unscathed. Allison’s absence, especially on a day like today, was always keenly felt; although it was almost reassuring to know you hadn’t forgotten her, wrapped up in all the other supernatural craziness that went on in Beacon Hills. Even people you hadn’t known very well, like Aidan, or the ones that had left of their own accord, like Jackson and Isaac, it felt like they should all have been here today. 

‘I miss you guys,’ you mutter under your breath, then brace yourself for the cold and wet as you dash out from under cover to cross the quad and join your friends. The rain cascades down your back, a trademark Beacon Hills flash-flood if you’d ever seen one. Not five minutes ago the sky was dark but clear of clouds, and now it was a downpour of epic proportions. 

You greet Stiles and Malia with a smile, hands clutched under your arms for warmth. 

‘Three guesses what you guys were talking about,’ you say with a wry smile, and Stiles grins, but before he can speak, Malia cuts across him.

‘Someone’s coming. Someone fast.’ 

The look of concentration on her face is obvious as she focuses her werecoyote senses. Sure enough, she’s right, and a grey blur heads right towards the three of you. You grab Stiles’ arm to pull him out of harm’s way, but Malia is one step ahead of you, planting her hand, palm flat, into the chest of your would-be attacker, knocking it, no, him, on his back.

Liam stares up at the three of you from the floor, rain now making its way along his sides and drenching his hoodie. He catches his breath as he lies in the water, gasping heavily. He’s been running a long distance, and even with his werewolf stamina, it’s taken a lot out of him. He looks up with pleading eyes.

‘Scott’s in trouble!’ He manages to gasp out. Malia looks back at you and Stiles, and you can already see her trying to track his scent, her nostrils flaring. Without another word, she darts off, Stiles hot on her heels. You reach down and pull Liam from the floor, exchanging a grim smile as you chase after them.

****

You dash down the water-flooded steps to the underpass, the others just inches ahead of you. The water makes it difficult for Liam and Malia to race ahead on supernatural speed, for fear of landing on their face and losing precious time. As you reach the bottom, your eyes swing left and right, drinking in the scene and trying to judge what use you can be.

Liam wasn’t exaggerating when he said Scott was in trouble. He’s on his knees, another figure looming above him. One of the attacker’s hands is outstretched, the elongated claws of a werewolf present, but different. Longer, and glowing in a harsh neon blue that lights Scott’s face in a ghostly pallor, like you can see the life draining from his face. The other hand is buried in Scott’s chest, and a triumphant grin extends across the man’s face. He’s older than the rest of you, by a couple of years maybe, and the glee on his face is horrible to behold, like watching the Devil himself grin in delight.

Across from Scott, Kira lays on the floor, desperately trying to catch her breath and get back to her feet. Her new katana/belt combo keeps slipping from her fingers, drenched with water, and you can see the agony in her eyes as she watches Scott writhe in pain. 

But there’s another figure there too, lying next to Kira. His head whips around, and the unmistakeable yellow eyes of a werewolf glare out from the darkness. Who was this guy, and what was he doing here? And more importantly, was he friend, or foe? 

Liam’s roar tears you back into the moment, as Kira and the newcomer struggle to their feet. No one is sure what to do, whether they’d make it better or worse to rush the man with the neon claws, but someone needs to do something quickly, because Scott’s getting worse by the second.

Or so you think. 

Suddenly, Scott’s head snaps back up. His eyes blazing a scorching red, renewed power radiating off of him even through the freezing cold storm, Scott struggles to his feet, and clutches the claw thrust into his chest. He wrenches it side to side, shattering his attacker’s arm with an audible snap. No matter how many times you see his or the other’s supernatural strength on display, it still impresses (and scares you, if you’re being honest). Scott plucks the talons from his chest, now sheared off from the hand that had been pressed there not seconds before, and they clatter to the floor.

Scott snarls at the man, now on his knees cradling his broken arm. Their roles have reversed in less than 10 seconds, and Scott now stands tall above the man who wanted to drain his power and take his life. His words form across the multiple rows of teeth his werewolf form possesses, more than Liam or Malia thanks to his Alpha status, and the animalistic edge to the usually gentle and reassuring Scott’s voice makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

‘I don’t know who you are, and I don’t care, but I’m going to give you a choice. You can stay here and I’ll break something else, or you can run.’ He snaps his fangs together to emphasise his point, and the man looks up from the floor at the rest of us. You glare back at him, silently daring him to try something else. You feel the others tense at your side, a united front against this would-be attacker. Your gaze lingers on Kira and the newcomer, now poised to renew their attack should he attempt it. Stiles steps forward, and looks the man dead in the eye.

‘I’d run.’

The last remaining dregs of fight drain from the man, now faced with the full might (well, almost) of Scott’s pack facing him down. He turns tail and runs out into the rain, and you all walk under the underpass to see if he had inflicted any lasting damage. You see the couples instinctively head towards each other, Kira to Scott’s side, a place she has been absent from for too long thanks to her trip to New York, and Malia lingering by Stiles’. You and Liam hang to one side, letting them draw strength from each other. Eventually, you realise that you’re forgetting someone, and turn away from your friends to see the newcomer now walking towards you.

Now that the rain is out of your eyes and the battle is over, you can finally take him in completely. His eyes are no longer the burning yellow of a werewolf but green, and the crazy sideburns that come with the transformation have withdrawn to reveal a face that makes your heart involuntarily skip a beat. This guy is as handsome as they come, and considering the company you’d been keeping since meeting Scott and Stiles, that’s really saying something. Everyone in Beacon Hills was supernaturally attractive, even the non-supernatural ones.

The rain has soaked the guy through, his black shirt now clinging to his torso and leaving barely anything to the imagination. Why were all werewolves so freaking muscular? Was it all the midnight cardio? He puts his hands in his pockets and smiles, more of a mischievous smirk than anything else and addresses Scott. Out of deference to the obvious pack leader, or something else?

‘I guess you don’t remember me, do you?’ he says. You look at Scott, finally drawing your eyes away from the newcomer’s soaking wet clothes and the toned abs that they’re stuck to. He shrugs his shoulders, water running off of them.

‘I guess I look a little different since the fourth grade.’ He continues, and you can see the light of recognition go on behind Scott’s eyes. He looks incredulous, though hopefully not as incredulous as you did a minute ago, staring at this guy’s stomach. 

‘Theo?’ Scott asks in disbelief.

You begin to back away silently, feeling like you’re intruding on something that you have no business being a part of. Yeah, you’ve known Scott a few years, but this goes back beyond that. You pull away just enough that you can hear the gist of their conversation, but far enough away that you’re sure you won’t be considered part of it. You’re not sure what you’d say if this new guy, Theo, if that really was his name, spoke to you.

You take the time to examine him a little closer now that you’re not at risk of being called on in the conversation. He’s about the same age as the rest of you, and he seems to be at ease, as if he’s not been away for however long at all, like he’s known Scott all his life. He’s all smirks and praise for Scott it seems, gushing about how his old childhood friend is a true alpha. When Scott questions him about his reason for arriving in Beacon Hills, you pay more attention. Would this guy be hanging around? Some part of you hopes so, but you’re not sure where that’s coming from, since you’ve only known the guy about 10 seconds.

‘I wanna be a part of your pack,’ Theo finishes. His eyes, not quite pleading but…entreating, pass across the rest of you, as if he knows he’d need permission from the entire pack, not just Scott, to really be considered part of the family. He takes in Kira, her arm wrapped around Scott’s now as much for his reassurance as her own. Malia and Stiles, close but not quite touching, both with looks of suspicion clouding their faces. Liam looks unsure, glancing across at Scott – you forget how new all of this is to him, and how you were in the same position not long ago. Minus the werewolfiness, of course.

And finally, his eyes rest on you and you look right at him for the first time. You return his gaze, determined to keep eye contact until he looks away, determined to show that, even though you’re the ‘token human’, the one with no supernatural attachment to the pack at all, that you’re important, and that your opinion is just as important as everyone else’s. 

You lock your jaw and try to give a blank expression, but something about Theo’s face just makes you feel…sad. Like he hasn’t been a part of something for a long time, and that looking at the six of you standing together reminds him of what he doesn’t have. And most importantly, that what he’s saying is genuine. But you also get the feeling that he’s not telling the whole truth either. The one thing you’re absolutely sure of is that you could stare at Theo’s face for a very long time, taking in the contours of his jaw, the way his lips part just a little when he smirks what seems to be his trademark smirk. But that’s not going to happen any time soon.

‘Well, I can see you guys are going to have a lot to talk about. I’ll let you get back, you’ve still got your Senior Scribe to get to. I’ll see you all at school.’ 

Theo smirks again, and are you imagining it, or did his eyes linger on you before he turned away? No, you’re making it up. He turns from you all and heads away into the rain, stuffing his hands into his jacket pocket. You watch him go, biting your lower lip as you think about him, and everything else that’s happened.

‘Hey, you coming or not?’ Liam’s voice calls back to you. You realise that the rest of the pack has climbed the stairs and is waiting for you to catch up, the rain still beating down on them. 

‘Yeah, yeah, sorry!’ You call up after them, and hurry up to join them, throwing one last backwards glance at where Theo disappeared. It seems like you’re going to remember Senior Scribe for more than the usual reasons; it’s the first time you met Theo, and little do you know how much that meeting is going to change your life, and the lives of everyone you care about.


	2. Corridors and Parking Lots

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during the events of Teen Wolf 5x02: Parasomnia

You’re not hanging around outside the locker room. Really. No one can say you are. Yeah, you’ve been standing here for about 20 minutes waiting for Scott and Stiles to finish interrogating Theo, but you’re not hanging around. You’ve just got a free period, and nothing else to do. It’s the first day of school, so you’re up to date on homework, you’ve read the assigned readings for the next few classes, and you’re not actually going to the gym until later on in the day. So you’re standing. Yeah. 

Totally not waiting around to see what’s going on with Theo. 

He’s been on your mind since last night at the underpass. Sure, he didn’t speak to you or anything, barely looked at you even. But there was something there, and you just want to…you don’t know. See him again? Speak to him? You’re not really sure. Hence the hanging around. Which you’re totally not doing.

You’re looking at your watch as the bell rings, signalling the end of your free period. Well, too late now, you’ll have to get the results of the interrogation from Stiles later on, or ask Scott after class. You lean over and pick up your bag from the floor, as the door to the locker room opens. Theo’s voice drifts out, and you freeze, still on the floor.

‘It’s not just you I need to make a good impression on,’ he says, and his voice is soon followed by Theo himself. You turn towards the wall, now shy despite having waited 20 minutes for him to come out of the locker room. Ok, you admit to yourself, you were waiting for him, and now you look like a fool. You hope he’ll just walk past you, and you can get up and go the other way before Scott and Stiles follow him out and wonder what you’re doing.

‘Uh, are you okay? D’you need to go to the nurse’s office?’

Great. So much for your cunning plan. You look up at Theo, and for the second time in twelve hours, your heart skips a beat when you gaze into his face. Why do hot guys make you seize up? Quickly you pick up your bag and stand up to face him.

‘I’m fine, don’t mind me,’ you murmur, shouldering your bag and trying to avoid his gaze, ‘I better go, I gotta get to class. Can’t be late for the first day, right?’ 

As you complete your last sentence, your eyes flick up, like Theo’s own have some kind of tractor beam that draw yours to them. His eyes, you notice, now that you’re able to look into them properly, are a mixture of green and brown, like the water at the bottom of a pond – they betray the depth of his thoughts, but that’s not something that occurs to you until later. For now, one thought overtakes your mind: 

God, he’s _gorgeous_. 

You turn to leave, trying to fight back your thoughts, but before you realise what’s happening, he reaches out and taps your arm. It’s only a light touch, but it makes your skin tingle where his fingers touch your bare skin, like some of Kira’s Kitsune lightning dancing up and down it. You instinctively go to put your own hand where he touched you, but he’s already withdrawn.

‘Uh, sorry, I just thought, if you’re going to Chemistry, we could maybe walk together? I’m still trying to get my head around where everything is, it’s been years since I was in Beacon Hills, and I’ve never been to the high school before.’ His voice takes you aback; after his display last night, you expected him to sound so sure of himself all the time, but he seems almost sheepish. You look over at him properly, and see him gripping one arm with the other, like he’s unsure what to do with his hands now that he’s got your attention.

‘Sure, it’s this way,’ you say, but your voice comes out as a whisper. You cough and start walking, Theo matching pace next to you. You’re glad that he’s not all wet today; his grey t-shirt clings to his chest enough without help, and you’re having trouble concentrating. ‘Aren’t Scott and Stiles coming?’ you ask, to take your mind off.

‘How did you know they were in the locker room?’ Theo asks, but the light of realization goes on before he’s finished the sentence. ‘Oh. I guess their little third degree wasn’t a secret then.’ 

Now it’s your turn to look sheepish. 

‘Were you waiting for them?’ Theo questions further, apparently ignoring the blush rising in your cheeks and continuing on. 

‘Or were you waiting…’ He leaves the question hanging between you, and before you can think of how best to answer without looking like a fool for what feels like the hundredth time in one conversation, you arrive at the classroom door.

‘Well, this is it. In we go!’ you say with far too much enthusiasm. You turn and take a seat near the back of the class. Scott and Stiles will sit in front of you, you know. It’s the way they always sit in classes you all share, so most of the other people in your class know not to sit in their reserved seats. Unfortunately, that still leaves the seat next to you free, and that’s where Theo decides to place his bag; and his cute butt too, your brain adds involuntarily. 

Where did that thought come from? you start to wonder, but you’re stopped mid-wonder by Theo looking over at you and smirking that smirk of his. He opens his mouth to say something, his lips parting just slightly before the teacher walks through the door, Scott and Stiles hot on his heels, and the class begins.

‘Looks like it’ll have to wait till later,’ Theo whispers across the aisle at you. You fix your gaze on the teacher, but you can already feel the blood rushing to your face. Dammit Theo Raeken. You spend the rest of the class studiously ignoring him, and as soon as the bell rings, you rush out past Scott and Stiles’ quizzical looks before Theo can speak to you again.

****

The first time you look up from your books, it’s dark outside. Turns out spending an entire class ignoring Theo Raeken didn’t do wonders for your concentration, and you’ve spent the last few hours after school trying to catch up on the entire lesson, because there’s no way you’re getting behind this early in the semester. The school library, still under construction after the Sheriff’s claymore explosion ripped it apart last year, taking a Berserker and half of the basement with it, has emptied out of students.

Scott had caught up to you after fifth period, and had asked what was going on. You dismissed it as nothing, and tried to give him your most reassuring smile. He’d looked like he wanted to press further, but let the matter rest. He’d known you long enough now to know that when you needed to talk, you’d come and find him. When you knew yourself, Scott would be the first one to know. 

You had asked about Theo however, and Scott gave you the rundown of Theo’s past, and the impressions he’d gotten when they were talking. Now you had more information about the guy, your natural curiosity took over – you wanted to talk to Theo yourself. But of course, you also wanted the ground to swallow you up every time he looked at you, so there was that too.

Now sufficiently pleased that you’d understood everything that you should have understood hours ago, you pack up your books and leave the now-deserted library. Whilst Scott has his dirt bike, and Stiles has his Jeep (though for how much longer, you’re not sure, since he seems to have the entirety of Beacon Hills’ duct tape supply under his bonnet), you’re relegated to a bicycle. It’s okay though, you think. It’s good exercise. We can’t all be supernaturally hot, with perfect bodies, and great hair, and…you realise you’re thinking about Theo again as you put your books into the satchel attached to your bike. Damn it.

‘Hey!’

And then, to make matters worse, his voice rings out across the parking lot. Of course it does. Can today get any more embarrassing? You turn back towards the school to see Theo jogging down the stairs towards the bike rack. You manage a small smile in greeting as he draws closer, but he stops a few feet away.

‘What’re you still doing here? School was over hours ago. Or are you waiting for me again?’ He asks the question innocently enough, but that smirk of his finds its way onto his lips again, as if he actually means it seriously. To give yourself time to come up with a sufficiently scathing remark, you change the subject.

‘I could ask you the same thing. What’s the new kid doing at school this late? Familiarising himself with the layout so he doesn’t need my help to find Chemistry anymore?’ You think you’ve deflected well, but instead Theo just traps you with another question you can’t answer.

‘And why would I want to do that? I liked walking with you.’ The answer tumbles from his lips easily, as if it’s either genuine, or well-practised, like he rehearsed the conversation in his head before having it. But you know from experience that that never goes as well as you’d hope. So he’s telling the truth? You try and process this information, that this guy you’ve barely met genuinely seemed to like spending time with you, and luckily you’re saved from trying to answer yet another question when Theo continues.

‘Anyway, I was checking out the gym. It’s a lot nicer than the one at my old school, I can see I’ll like spending time in there.’

‘You look like you already spend a lot of time in the gym,’ you comment before you realise what the hell you’re saying. It’s true, that’s for sure. Theo takes the compliment in stride however, grinning wider, his smirk transforming into a genuine smile. 

‘Well, I try. Like I said earlier, it’s not just the teachers I’m trying to impress. Plus the whole…’ he looks around to make sure you’re alone, then carries on ‘…werewolf thing makes it easier. Seems like we’re predisposed to look like this.’

He pulls back the sleeve of his shirt, revealing his muscled arm. He flexes to illustrate the point, and you can’t help but stare. His bicep is _huge_ , perfectly formed from hours of gym time, and of course, the supernatural edge that his condition gives him. Once more he looks up at you, and his smile is infectious. As much as you could look at his arm (and probably the rest of him) for the rest of the evening, he rolls his sleeve back down. You resume the conversation, because for some reason, your earlier worries about having the ground swallow you up have dissipated - you don’t want him to leave just yet.

‘You say that like it’s a bad thing,’ you say, giving him another compliment. It’s like you’re trying to win favour with the guy; this isn’t something you usually do. It’s a far cry from the murmuring and trying to ignore him you were engaged in not hours earlier, but since you can’t just ignore him or run away from him like you did before, you can’t help it.

Theo smiles further and you find yourself smiling along with him. His smile makes you more forthcoming too, so you decide to answer his original question.

‘I was in the library, re-reading the Chemistry textbook. I guess something was distracting me in class, because I didn’t take in barely anything the teacher was saying.’ You put on a mock tone of anger, to hammer your point home without blatantly saying what you want to say – that you were trying to stop yourself from looking over at Theo for the whole class.

‘Well, I guess whatever, or whoever, was distracting you should probably apologise. And introduce himself properly. I’m Theo. Theo Raeken.’ He reaches out his hand for a handshake, and tentatively you take it. His hand is warm and smooth; somehow you expected it to be coarser. His fingers clasp around yours, dwarfing your hand in his own, and you shake firmly.

‘I’m…’ you begin, but Theo cuts you off.

‘Oh, I already know who you are. I asked Scott earlier.’

He asked Scott about you? 

‘He filled me in on the whole pack. I wanted to know who it was I needed to win over.’

Oh. Maybe not. 

You realise that you’re still holding his hand, so you reluctantly pull your fingers from his grasp. You can’t seem to think of anything else to say after that rollercoaster of a sentence, so you guess it’s time to go.

‘I’m heading home now. I’ll see you tomorrow?’ The question has an obvious answer, since it’s clear Theo will be in most of your classes now, but you ask it regardless, like his confirmation will mean he’ll speak to you again.

‘Yeah, I’d like that. Maybe we can…talk some more. I’ve got some business to take care of for now though, so I’ll see you tomorrow.’

He starts to leaving, walking through the car park. You vaguely remember his parents giving him a lift to school this morning, so he must be short in the car department like you too. He looks over his shoulder one last time as he goes, giving you a final smile. Not the smirk he seems to throw around like anything, but the full on smile, the one that so far, you’ve only seen aimed at you.

Your face twitches into your own smile, and you climb onto your bike. As you ride towards Theo, the smile bursts and you hear your voice shout:

‘Hey, Theo?’

He glances back over his shoulder, a quizzical look furrowing his usually flawless forehead, and his gaze follows you as you ride past him.

‘It was nice meeting you!’ You speed past him, your smile returning as you cycle off into the night. Maybe all that time in the library had been worth it after all.


	3. Let Me Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during the events of Teen Wolf 5x03: Dreamcatchers

The floor of the veterinary clinic is cold. This is your overriding thought as you lay there paralyzed, not for the first time, by Kanima venom. You thought once Jackson went to London that you were done with being stuck on the floor, unable to move. It wasn’t a fun feeling, to say the least, and when there was a homicidal half-Kanima on the prowl, it was possibly the last place on Earth you wanted to be, except perhaps in front of said Kanima, without any weapons.

Malia was able to shake off the venom quicker than the rest of you, the Kanima – no, Tracey; she’s still a person, even if she does have a tail and paralytic venom oozing out of her fingers - only barely scratched her. That leaves the rest of you stuck on the floor in various stages of paralysis. Scott’s almost on his feet again, balancing on one knee as he tries to wake up the bottom of his other leg, whilst you, Stiles, and Doctor Deaton are having a bit less luck. Your foot has fallen asleep since you landed it on it when you dropped, so now you have that uncomfortable feeling to go along with all the others.

Suddenly, the door to the room snaps open, sending mountain ash billowing around the floor. You’re still not sure how Tracey managed to get through it when it’s meant to stop supernatural creatures in their tracks, but at least she parted the barrier on her way out, otherwise your saviour wouldn’t have been able to get through now. Theo stands silhouetted in the doorway, a look of deep concern etched into every line of his face. 

Quickly he helps Scott to his feet, propping him on the surgery table where Tracey had been lying not an hour earlier. Stiles is next, despite his protestations. Stiles is usually a pretty good judge of character, you think, but he seems to be hellbent on opposing Theo at every turn, even when it was obvious he was trying to help. Finally, Theo grabs Doctor Deaton and he joins the other two leaning on the table.

That just leaves you. Scott instinctively moves towards you, ever the alpha and the faithful friend out to help you, but his leg buckles under him, the venom still not completely broken down by his werewolf immune system. Theo reaches out his arm and catches Scott before he can fall again, and props him back up on the table before turning to you.

Considering you definitely can’t run away or avoid him now, you take Theo in with your eyes as he walks towards you. His Doc Martins clomp on the floor, leaving dirt marks in his wake. Doctor Deaton won’t be pleased, you think, but considering we could have all almost died, a little dirt isn’t too big a deal. Your eyes travel up Theo’s black jeans, to his white sweater, so tight you can see the white muscle shirt he’s wearing underneath through the fabric. Of course, he’d have to be wearing white, so he looked like an angel as well as acting like one. Although the little scruff around his chin kind of off-sets that image; you’d never seen an angel that hadn’t shaved before.

He leans over you and you feel his hand pushed between the floor and your body until it rests under your shoulders. His other hand slides under your legs, midway up your thighs, and he lifts you from the floor almost effortlessly. You roll in his arms, and you feel the swell of his biceps on your shoulders as he grips you tight to his chest.

‘I think you got hit a lot harder than everyone else, you’re barely moving,’ he whispers to you. It’s true, as Tracey tried to escape you moved in front of the doorway, so her claws dug right into your arm as she pushed past. It’s only now that you look down, you realise one of the claws has broken off and is sticking out of your upper arm; luckily it’s the opposite arm to the one now pressed against Theo. He gestures with his head, and Scott, Stiles, and Deaton move back from the table. Now that they’re on their feet, they seem to be fighting the venom off a lot easier. Scott already looks ready to head off after Tracey, whilst Stiles and Deaton are wobbly, but vertical and mostly unaided. Theo places your prone form on the surgery table, and you look up with embarrassment.

‘We need to find Tracey, before she hurts someone else,’ Scott has his Alpha voice on – he’s taking charge, and you wish you could go with them to try and help. ‘But we can’t just leave you here either,’ he adds, nodding towards you. You smile sheepishly, but there’s nothing you can do to help from here other than offer words of encouragement.

‘Sorry guys,’ you sigh. ‘I’m just going to slow you down. Go after her, I’ll be fine here.’ You grimace as Stiles pulls the Kanima claw from your arm, and you feel the blood start soaking into your shirt. Theo disappears from view, and returns with a bandage from Deaton’s supplies. He pulls the arm of your shirt and tears it off; you’d be angry, but his touch is electrifying, everywhere his fingers land on your bare skin sending tingles to the rest of your body. He wraps the bandage around your wound, and squeezes it tight before offering a reassuring smile. That smile, the one that he always seems to save for when he’s looking at you. You realise as you look back up at him that none of the others can see his face from this angle – he’s done it again, kept that smile your little secret. You wonder if it’s intentional.

Your wondering doesn’t last though, as Theo turns back to Scott and says with great urgency, ‘I can help. Let me help. It doesn’t have to mean I’m part of the pack, like you’ve accepted me or anything like that; it just means that I can help catch this girl.’ His eyes sweep the four of you, pleading but determined, like he’s going to help whether you want him to or not. His eyes rest on you finally, and you nod your approval, but look to Scott for the final word. 

‘Scott.’ Theo never raises his voice, but it’s obvious he’s not taking no for an answer. ‘Let me help you.’

You can feel the feeling in your extremities returning now that the Kanima claw has been taken out of your arm, which hurts like hell, the venom burning through your veins and the pins and needles in your foot that you can’t massage because you still can’t move. Your eyes continue to rest on Scott, who looks at the rest of you individually, gauging your responses. It’s clear Stiles is against letting Theo help, and Deaton has literally just met the guy, so he simply defers to Scott. When Scott’s eyes land on you, you nod again, but don’t say anything. It’s Scott’s decision; he’s the alpha, and the only one who can move properly enough to help Theo at the moment anyway.

Eventually, he caves. He sighs, but looks Theo dead in the eye as he accepts his help. 

‘You guys follow on when you can, but if you’re not up to it, then don’t try to move too much,’ these last words are aimed at you; Scott knows you want to help, but he doesn’t want to put you any further in harm’s way. ‘Theo and I can track Tracey’s scent; we’ll text you when we know where she is. For now, just focus on fighting the venom, we’ll be alright on our own until then.’

‘Scott, the two of you need to be careful. We don’t know what this girl is capable of,’ Deaton warns, acting as the voice of reason, as always.

‘Yeah, I know. We will. Get better, alright guys?’ 

Scott leaves, but Theo lingers for a second longer. He looks around at you all. Deaton’s eyes are questioning, whilst Stiles are distrusting, despite all that Theo’s done so far. Granted, it’s odd that he turned up just when you needed him, but he said that he’d been looking for Scott to try and help with Tracey, so maybe that was all the reason he needed. Just as he’s about to follow Scott out of the room, he grips your hand with his and you feel your breathe catch in your chest from the unexpected contact. 

‘Like Scott said – get better. I’ll have no one to walk me to class if I have to carry you,’ Theo says. It’s a light-hearted comment, but it means the world – it means he’s been thinking about you, even with all the other madness that’s been going on.

‘I’ll do my best,’ you promise. ‘I’d cross my heart, but my hands still feel numb. Now go!’ You plead with him, and wiggle your fingers inside his hand to show him that you’re already getting better. He looks reluctant, but he follows Scott outside at a jog.

Now you’re left alone, and Stiles looks at you quizzically. He’s propped himself up on one elbow, stomach leaning into the table and he’s shaking his legs out individually, trying to get the feeling back into them. 

‘What’s up with you two?’ he asks.

‘What? Nothing. There’s nothing up.’ You’re not sure why you answer so vaguely, but it’s not clear exactly what’s going on. You and Theo need to have a proper talk, as soon as this night is over, but for now, you’re not sure where you stand, and it’s best not to give Stiles anything else to obsess over.

Deaton walks unsteadily over to the door and puts his fingers in the mountain ash that remains by the door-frame, checking it by sight, smell, and finally by taste. 

‘It’s definitely mountain ash. I’m not sure why Tracey could have gotten through it; it’s meant to stop all supernatural creatures.’

‘So the only real explanation for that is…that she’s not supernatural?’ you ask. It doesn’t really make sense, but it’s the only logical explanation at the moment.

Deaton’s brow furrows, as if he’s mulling the idea over in his head but isn’t quite sure how to voice it. You press your palms into the table, the cold metal a different kind of chill to the floor, and this time not unwelcome – it helps shock the rest of your hands into movement, and you’re able to manoeuvre yourself into a sitting position.

‘Hey, whoa, slow it down there!’ Stiles chides you, but you swing your legs over the side of the table and manage to get your feet firmly on the floor. 

‘No, there’s no time. Scott and Theo might need our help, and I’m not going to sit here on the table all night if we can do something about it. C’mon Stiles, you know what I’m talking about. We’re the humans, the ones that they’re always looking out for. We’re not werewolves, or kitsunes, or banshees, or hunters with loads of weapons, but we’re part of the team, the pack, and we need to do what we can, even if it’s just moral support.’

Stiles seems to contemplate this, then nods. 

‘Alright, c’mon. We can at least go and sit in the Jeep, wait for Scott to text so we know where we’re going. You ready, Doc?’

Deaton pauses in his review of his mountain ash vials, trying to determine if there’s something defective about them, and nods. 

‘If you’re ready, we’ll go. But only if you’re sure.’ That last comment is meant for you, for obvious reasons.

You grit your teeth and stand up tall. It’s true, you can’t feel everything all over just yet, and the pins and needles in your foot are really coming on hard and fast, like a porcupine crawling all over the inside of your skin, but you’re determined not to let your friends down.

‘I’m sure. Let’s go.’

The three of you head out into the parking lot together, Deaton locking the animal clinic behind him, and pile into Stiles’ jeep. As you sit down, you raise your arm just a little too high and a twinge of pain floods through your body from where Tracey’s claw tore through your skin. You can feel the heat radiating out from it, but the pressure of the bandage Theo applied keeps it mostly contained. 

‘Theo did a good job with that bandage; I think he’s done that before.’ Deaton comments, but before he can elaborate, or you’re able to answer, Stiles’ phone bleeps. He pulls it out of the pocket of his jeans and quickly reads the text message.

‘Scott’s at the sheriff’s station. So that’s where we’re going.’

He puts the key in the ignition, and for once, the jeep starts without any complaints, and you rocket off down the dark streets of Beacon Hills towards Scott, Tracey, Theo, and certain danger. But you know without a doubt that this is where you’re supposed to be. Like you told Stiles, just because you’re the humans, doesn’t mean you can’t be of use. And you’re determined to prove to everyone now that you’re just as important a member of the pack as all the supernaturally enhanced guys and girls.


	4. Corridors and Parking Lots - Redux

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during the events of Teen Wolf 5x04: Condition Terminal

You walk with Stiles down the now-familiar hallways of Beacon Hills General Hospital. It’s strange, you always hated hospitals, but since you became part of the pack, you’d been spending more and more time here, to the point where the medical smell barely even bothers you anymore. You still didn’t like being here at the best of times, but thankfully you’re not alone. You and Stiles have a rare free period together, so you’ve decided to visit Lydia and see if she is feeling better after her run-in with Tracey last night.

The pair of you head down towards Lydia’s room, having already checked with the front desk to find out where she’s being kept. You match pace with Stiles, and put your hand on his shoulder to reassure him. He’d been frantic about Lydia since last night, and even Malia hadn’t had much luck trying to calm him down. You knew deep down that Stiles still loved her, it was obvious to everyone, but that love had changed in the past few years. No longer was it this out of control fire that threatened to burn through everything Stiles did as he tried desperately to impress her, but now more of a steady flame, more of a constant love and respect for the woman Lydia had become, perhaps always had been in Stiles’ eyes.

‘She’ll be fine Stiles. She’s in the best place, you know they’ll all look after her. And Scott’s mom will keep checking in, you know that too.’ You squeeze his shoulder and he nods.

‘Yeah, I know. But we’ve all seen too many people get hurt, and I just wish we’d gotten there sooner. Maybe we could have done something more, y’know?’ He looks at you with pleading eyes, as if something you say can forgive him, forgive all of you for not being able to stop Tracey’s attack sooner. 

You, Stiles, and Deaton got to the police station pretty quickly after Theo and Scott did, but it was already too late. You’d found Theo with Lydia and Kira, his belt holding Lydia’s stomach wound closed, whilst Stiles had joined Scott and Malia in the basement where they’d found Tracey’s dead body. Malia had said something about three masked guys, but you hadn’t managed to piece all the details together quite yet. You were all going to meet up at lunch time and try to iron out the whole story, because it was clear that there was more going on than any of you initially realised.

Rounding the corner, you see a familiar face standing vigil outside the room. Theo is here, leaning with one foot on the wall and his arms crossed. His head is bowed, his eyes closed, like he’s asleep, or concentrating really hard.

‘What’s he doing here?’ Stiles wonders, anger filling his voice. He’s really not in the best of moods to start with, and you expect Theo being there won’t do much to improve it. You decide to kill two birds with one stone and get Theo on his own so you can have that talk you’ve been meaning to have, as well as keeping him and Stiles away from each other, at least until Stiles is in more agreeable mood. You put your hand on Stiles’ chest to stop him before Theo notices you’re both there.

‘I’ll get rid of him. You try and get in to see Lydia, and tell her I’ll see her soon.’

‘You sure? I’m pretty sure I can take him if I have to.’ Stiles replies. He looks serious, but you’re pretty sure he’s joking. Pretty sure.

‘He’s twice your size, Stiles. I’ll handle this one.’ You give him your own mischievous smirk, trying to mirror Theo’s own to show Stiles that you’re going to beat Theo at his own game. ‘Just stay here, out of sight, and I’ll distract him. And try not to break anything, I think your dad’s still paying off that vending machine.’

Stiles trips over his tongue as he tries to get a snappy response out in time, but you’re already marching down the hallway towards Theo, so he simply flails out of the way and disappears from sight, leaving you to your self-assigned mission. 

‘Hey, you!’ You shout at Theo as you march towards him. His eyes snap open – so he wasn’t asleep at all. He swings his head towards you, his mouth open in a rare confused look, as if it’s more confusing seeing you here instead of you seeing him. You don’t slow as you pass him, grabbing hold of one of his arms, and pulling him away from the wall. You expect resistance, but your newfound confidence (or is it just madness? You’re not sure, but it’s working, so you roll with it) gives him as much pause as Stiles not a second earlier, and he follows you as you drag him away. As you round the next corner, you look back quickly to see Stiles sneaking down the hallway, a huge appreciative grin on his face and two thumbs up on his hands.

‘Uh, am I being kidnapped?’ Theo wonders as you pull him around yet another corner and out of the back entrance to the hospital parking lot. You two seem to have a thing for parking lots.

‘That depends if you’re going to answer my questions or not,’ you respond, an air of seriousness betrayed by the smile you find on your face. You pull Theo over to some benches set out by some flower planters, and plop yourself down. Only then you do you reluctantly release his arm.

‘Oh, I see. Everyone in Beacon Hills is a cop, and everyone wants to drill me for information.’ Theo walks around you and sits to your left, close, but not touching you. ‘You know, you could have just asked if you wanted to see me. I’m sure Stiles wouldn’t have over-reacted.’

‘So you see through my sneakiness’ you say, a mock sigh escaping your lips. ‘Okay officer, take me away.’ You hold out your arms, ready for fake handcuffs and Theo clasps your wrists with his hands. They’re warm, as all werewolves are, and you feel their heat acutely in the chilly parking lot. 

‘Hey, when I said everyone, I didn’t mean me!’ Theo laughs easily, and you realise it’s the first time you’ve heard the sound. It’s a rough laugh, like it’s unpractised and unfamiliar to even Theo himself; he obviously doesn’t do it very often, and you wonder why. He releases your wrists, freeing you from his faux-captivity and the warmth of his touch. You’re not sure whether to be happy or sad about that. But then, that’s what you’re doing here in the first place, right, figuring out how you’re supposed to feel?

‘So, Officer. How can I help the Beacon Hills Theo Interrogation Department?’ Theo asks. He’s leaning back now, the bottom of his shirt riding up to reveal the bottom few lines of his etched stomach, and his hands are clasped behind his head. It’s an ease you’ve not seen on him at all in the last few days since you first met him. Then again, most of those times have been under threat of some supernatural monster or another, so you can probably let him off for that.

‘Well.’ Now that the moment is here, you’re not sure exactly what you want to ask him. You decide to play for time with some small talk. Or so you think.

‘How’re you settling in? You know where Chemistry is now, right?’ 

Theo’s smirk hits his lips again at the question, and he rubs the back of his neck.

‘Yeah, I think I can remember. But I wouldn’t mind if you still wanted to walk with me. In case I get lost.’

See, it’s that kind of thing that throws you off-kilter. You’re asking a perfectly harmless question, and instead you get more…signals, you suppose. 

‘That’s what I want to talk to you about,’ you blurt, seizing the moment while it’s still there.

‘What, getting lost on the way to class?’ Theo looks taken aback. Can he really not know what you’re getting at?

‘No, you dork. Those things you say. The way you look at me. You’ve gotta know what I mean?’ you press him. Theo sits forward now, obviously realising that you’re serious. He avoids your gaze, and tugs his shirt back down.

‘I…’ he begins, and the uncomfortable look on his face doesn’t do anything to make you feel better. You thought it’d be best to straighten this out early; if Theo’s going to join the pack, you need to know where you stand with him so it doesn’t make things awkward. You reach out and before you realise what you’re doing, you’ve taken his hand. Slipping your fingers in between his, you pull him towards you so that he can’t avoid your gaze any further.

‘THIS is what I mean!’ You say, pulling his hand up in front of his eyes so he can see your fingers intertwined with his. ‘Anyone else would pull away, or wonder what I was doing, especially since I’ve known you all of about three days at this point. And whenever we talk, you keep implying that you wanna get to know me better, or spend time with me, and I can’t help but read into that.’ You let your hand drop from his, but Theo’s eyes stay fixed on yours. He goes to speak, but you’re on fire now, the rage and confusion that has been building over the last few days since you first laid eyes on him bubbling over into an inferno.

‘Look, if you’re really set on being part of the pack, I get it. You need to get to know everyone, and everyone has to get to know you. Being part of a pack is like being part of a family. But I don’t see you doing this to Stiles, or Malia, or Scott. I could be making this up, seeing things that aren’t there. But I don’t think I am, and I really want to know what’s going on. If you just want to be friends, or whatever, I can deal with that. I can deal with whatever. But I need to know what ‘whatever’ is, before I can wrap my head around anything else.’ 

Your inferno bubbles back to a dull blaze, and you feel your cheeks flush. You stand up quickly, leaving Theo on the bench and walk a few paces away.

‘You probably think I’m a complete idiot,’ you whisper. You know he can hear you, werewolf ears and all, but you can’t handle looking at his face right now. You’re not sure if he’ll laugh, or be confused, or what.

‘No, I don’t think that at all.’ Probably the only thing Theo could have said that would have surprised you, and that’s what he goes for. Of course. You hear the bench creak as he gets up from his seat, and you feel his breath on the back of your neck as he stands behind you. He puts his hands on your upper arms and spins you around so that the one thing you wanted to avoid, his face, his perfect face, is the only thing you can see. He doesn’t let go either, holding you so that you can see every word he says next.

‘You wanna know what I want? Why I’m here?’ he asks. It’s the only thing you want right this moment, but you can’t bring your voice to say the words. You just nod, never taking your gaze from his green eyes.

‘The real reason I’m here in Beacon Hills, is because I was drawn here. Everything I told Scott was true – when I heard about a true alpha here, named Scott McCall, I knew I had to come back. I remember Scott from a long time ago, and if anyone could make a great alpha, it’d be him. And I had to see that for myself. And I knew whoever he had in his pack would be worth knowing, because an alpha’s pack always shows the type of person they are – they only surround themselves with people they trust completely. At least, any good alpha does that.

You file that last comment away to tell Derek, if he ever comes back to Beacon Hills.

‘So when I saw you all there, coming to help Scott against that weirdo with the glowstick claws in the underpass, I knew you were all going to be people I’d want in my life. Scott and Kira, Malia, Stiles, even if he doesn’t seem to trust me yet, that little guy Liam, Lydia…why do you think I’m here in the first place? If we’d gotten to the Sheriff’s station quicker, I might have been able to stop Tracey, so I had to come and see if she was alright. But they’re not letting people into the room now, only family. That deputy guy is in there with her.

He mirrors your earlier gesture and grabs both your hands with his. He lifts them up so that they press against his chest, and he places his forehead on yours. It’s the gentlest of touches, but it means so much to you, you barely even know what to do.

‘And you. You, the one that was hiding away behind the others, making sure you weren’t included, like you felt you didn’t deserve it. Even when we were all talking, you hung back, out of the way, like you felt you were intruding on something despite being part of the pack. But the whole time you had this fierce look in your eyes, like you were daring anyone to try and hurt the people you loved. And that was when I realised that I wanted you to feel that way about me.’

Theo finishes talking and you continue to gaze into his eyes, not wanting the moment to end. You thought that hearing his confession would make things easier, but now you’re more confused than ever. Something Theo says sounds out of place though, something that you should realise…something about Lydia?

Oh. Wait.

Stiles comes flying out of the hospital just as you manage to push Theo away from you and disentangle your fingers from his. You don’t need Stiles asking awkward questions you don’t have the answers to. You give Theo a look of regret as you dash away to re-join Stiles, and as you look over your shoulder you see his hands drop to his sides and a hurt look in his eyes. 

And why wouldn’t he look that way? You pushed too hard, he poured out his emotions, and your reaction is to just run away?


	5. Lamentations In The Library

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during the events of Teen Wolf 5x05: A Novel Approach

‘Are you sure you don’t want me to come?’ you ask Scott for the fifth time in five minutes. You’re leaving school at the end of the day, and he, Stiles, Kira, and Lydia are heading over to Eichen House to talk to this Doctor Valack guy who wrote the creepy book Malia found in Tracey’s bedroom. As much as you hate Eichen House, you feel like if Lydia and Stiles, who both had some pretty traumatic experiences there recently, can go, you should go too.

‘No, it’s fine, I promise,’ Scott reassures you. ‘Besides, I think Malia could do with some company in the library. She’s not coming either; you know how much she hates Eichen. Maybe you can go see if she needs help with the book?’

You pout, but Scott’s right. Your friends come first, and as much as you want to be there for Stiles and Lydia, Malia’s just as important as they are. You relent, and agree to go and see how she’s doing. Scott thanks you and smiles, a smile that widens when Kira comes down the steps of the school and hops onto his dirt bike, clasping her hands around his waist and smiling at you too.

‘We’ll be back before you know it. You don’t want to go to Eichen House, it’s really unsettling.’ Kira adds.

‘And if you’re really stuck for something to do, you can always do the AP Biology reading and give me the short version?’ Scott offers with a grin. He kicks the bike into gear and begins to pull away.

‘Yeah, yeah, go have fun in the potentially life threatening old asylum with the sub-basement of captive supernatural creatures, you crazy kids!’ you shout over the roar of the engine, but it’s so loud at this distance that no one can hear you, except maybe Scott with his werewolf ears. He and Kira flick down their helmet visors and speed off into the darkness. Stiles and Lydia are meeting them at Eichen in Stiles’ jeep, you remember.

The sight of Kira pressed against Scott’s back on the bike stirs memories of the previous day, of you and Theo at the hospital. You mull over everything that happened as you make your way to the library. 

You knew there was more to Theo than meets the eye. In fact, you’re still not sure if you got all the answers out of him that you needed. But you’re definitely on a much surer footing than before – you know he likes you; at least that much has been cleared up. And of course, the first thing you do when confronted by this news is flee in terror. You bet that gave him a best impression of you. Why do you always act on impulse? And how are you going to explain to Theo that you like him too? In fact, will he even speak to you again after yesterday?

It looks like you’re going to find out sooner than you expect, because you see Theo walking towards you from the other direction. You speed up, hoping he hasn’t seen you, and slap your keycard on the library card reader. The door swings open, and you dart inside before Theo has a chance to say anything to you. You dash down the steps and out into the main area of the library before spotting Malia on the second level. She’s deep in thought, her over-used yellow highlighter sticking out of the corner of her mouth. You hear the door of the library open behind you, and you know Theo won’t be far behind, so you practically run across the library floor and up the stairs leading to where Malia is sitting.

‘Oh, hey!’ she brightens as you arrive, any excuse to put her yellow highlighter down for a moment. ‘Uh, are you okay?’ She realises you’re not even looking at her, but leaning over the table and looking down towards Theo. He must have seen you come up here, but he’s not following. In fact, he looks up at you, right into your eyes even from this distance (you silently curse his werewolf senses) and his face falls. It seems that he’s more vulnerable than you thought he was, and your fleeing from him hasn’t help patch up the damage you did to your budding friendship/relationship/whatever else yesterday at all. Before you can change your mind and go after him, he turns away and disappears into the library stacks.

‘Hey?’ Malia snaps her fingers in front of your face and follows your line of sight right to Theo. ‘Oh, him? Is he bothering you? I can break some of his fingers or something; he’ll leave you alone then.’

‘No, thanks,’ you reply. You’re never sure just how much Malia is kidding and how much she actually means, so it’s best to play it on the safe side. Plus, you don’t want Theo’s fingers broken so much as wrapped around your own again. Or do you? God, this is confusing. ‘Don’t worry about Theo, it’s fine. Anyway! I’m here to keep you company. Scott’s orders.’

‘So you’re babysitting?’ Malia looks at you with disappointment.

‘No! I’m keeping you company while everyone else goes to Eichen House. I’d rather be here with you, Eichen is creepy as hell,’ you reassure her, even if you’re lying just a little bit. You take the seat opposite her and pull out your AP Biology textbook, as Malia begrudgingly accepts your reasoning. Scott was right about one thing, at least you’ll be able to do the assigned reading for a change. You don’t know how Lydia manages to stay on top of all her classes (although she’s only got a few this year, so you guess that helps) and all the pack stuff too. Thank god for her notes, otherwise you and the rest of the pack would have failed everything last year.

‘You getting a head-start this year?’ you ask Malia. You know how hard she tried last year to catch up. A few years as a coyote hadn’t done wonders for her education, and she’d struggled to pass all her exams in order to get into senior year with the rest of you. Malia moves her yellow highlighter to the other side of her mouth and sighs.

‘I wish. I’m going back through this stupid Dread Doctors book, see if I missed anything important or if there’s anything I wanna ask you guys about when you all read it. And Mr. Yellow Highlighter’s getting a workout, so I guess it’s a win for him either way,’ she replies.

You nod and give her hand a reassuring squeeze.

‘It’ll all be alright. When the rest of the guys get back from Eichen, we’ll sort this mess out once and for all.’ You hope you sound more confident of that than you feel. You open your AP Biology book and try not to fall asleep.

****

This isn’t working. You’ve been reading and re-reading your textbook for hours now, and none of what it’s going on about really makes any sense. You keep relating everything you read back to the chimera problem the pack’s currently facing, so whatever you read just gets twisted around and makes less sense than when it started. Malia has given up on the Dread Doctors book finally, and is reading a textbook for her own class. You push your chair away from the table and sigh.

‘I’ll be back in a bit. I need some air, this textbook’s giving me a headache,’ you inform her.

‘I know that feeling,’ she mumbles and turns the page, her brow furrowing even deeper in confusion. You smile, but she’s too absorbed in her reading to notice, and walk along the library stacks. The construction’s getting along pretty well now; there are only a few more pieces of scaffolding left until the library will be back and better than ever. You’re kind of glad that the old one got destroyed, since it means you get this awesome new one in its place. As you wander around aimlessly, looking at all the half-filled shelves, you realise there’s someone else on this floor now. You thought it was just you and Malia, most of the other students had cleared off home.

You can hear the unknown person pushing books around on the shelves, and you follow the noise down a few more aisles. You’d probably never have heard them at all if it wasn’t so quiet up here. You sneak along, and peer down the aisle you manage to pinpoint the sound in. And there he is again. Theo has his back to you, moving books around on the shelf as he tries to find something he’s looking for. He’s wearing a black jacket over a white t-shirt, and his usual pair of black jeans. From this angle, you’ve got a perfect view of his perfect butt. And whilst you’re staring, he turns around. And sees you. Staring at his butt. You dart your head back behind the shelf, but the damage is done. You lean up against the shelf and shut your eyes, as if you can disappear into the darkness behind them and he won’t see you. You listen to his footsteps as Theo walks down the aisle towards you, and you know that isn’t true.

‘Can I help you?’ he says. You open your eyes, and he’s looking at you in a way you’ve not seen him look before. The sorrow on his face almost brings you to tears; he looks like a puppy that you’ve kicked, and while you hate dog metaphors for the werewolves in your life, it just seems so accurate, and so painful to look at. 

‘No, sorry, I should go,’ you blurt out like a badly voiced video game NPC and turn to leave.

‘Wait!’ Theo calls roughly. You stop and slowly turn around, this time feeling the tears burn hot at the corners of your eyes. You blink them away, and look at Theo with heavy lidded eyes, ready to close them if you feel the tears return. You wait for him to speak first, afraid that if you opened your mouth, you’d sob instead of speak.

‘Look, about yesterday,’ Theo begins, and steps towards you. He’s close now, almost as close as you were yesterday, but he’s keeping enough distance between you that you know something’s changed. He seems to be searching for the words, like he’s trying to work out exactly what to say to explain himself properly. Maybe he can see how close you are to crying, and wants to stop that happening.

‘I feel like I should apologise,’ he continues, ‘but the more I think about it, the more I don’t think I did anything wrong. You asked me a question, and I answered, and then you ran away. I don’t think I’ve been that honest with anyone in a long time, I haven’t felt comfortable enough around anyone to be. Even Scott, I still haven’t felt like I was completely at ease around him yet. But you, you’re different. You saw right through me, so I thought I’d be honest with you, and you…ran away, and left me there like an idiot.’

You realise the truth to his words as he finishes. You knew it all along.

‘I’m sorry,’ you breathe, and you can feel the lump in your throat rising now. ‘I didn’t mean to embarrass you, or take advantage of you. I’m not sure what I expected when I asked you about all that stuff yesterday, but you’re right. You answered my questions, and I ran away like some moron in a story book. I’m sorry, really.’ You punctuate this last sentence with an intense gaze into his eyes, to make sure he knows you mean it. And because it gives you something to focus on other than trying not to cry. How strange that you find yourself looking at him for a distraction, when before you’d be looking anywhere but at him for fear he’d distract you.

The sorrow that’s creased Theo’s face seems to lessen as he takes in your gaze. 

‘Your eyes are so honest. No matter what you’re saying, your eyes betray you,’ Theo comments. He reaches out and puts his hand under your chin, tipping your head so that he can see them better. The now-familiar tingles that you feel when he touches you radiate out from his fingertips, and the idea that Theo might actually be about to forgive you is enough to crack the lump in your throat. You feel your mouth crumple, and hot tears spill from your eyes.

‘Hey, don’t do that,’ Theo says, and now he’s even closer, his face only inches from yours. He uses his other hand to wipe your tears, and you tuck your head down, pushing his hand from your chin, as if you’re undeserving of his tender touch after what you did to him. 

‘I’m sorry Theo,’ you whisper, ‘I’m really sorry. I just never expected someone like you to even look at someone like me, let alone say what you said yesterday. I guess it just surprised me, and I didn’t know what to do. I reacted badly, and I didn’t mean to hurt you.’

‘I know what you mean. It’s not often people look at me the way you do,’ he confesses, and you snicker, more tears trickling out of your eyes.

‘I find that very hard to believe, you’re gorgeous,’ you say, the compliment falling easily from your mouth, but Theo shakes his head.

‘That’s not what I mean,’ he replies. ‘You don’t just look at me like I’m some piece of meat you can gawk at. Your eyes, it’s like they see through everything, right down to my soul. And that scared me a little, I didn’t know if you’d like what you’d see. I’m not as nice as guy as you’d think.’

‘I don’t agree with that. Everything I’ve seen of you makes me think you’re a good guy. Look at you, you’re even forgiving me for being a total ass, and you’ve only known me a few days. You could just brush me aside and forget about it, there’re plenty of other people in the pack or the entire school you could be friends with, but you’re trying to mend the bridge that I ran away over. How can you not see how good you are?’

He smiles reluctantly, like he still finds the compliment unfounded, but he doesn’t say anything else on the subject. Instead he pulls you closer to him. You think he’s going to go in for a kiss, but his hands clasp behind your back as he embraces you. You lean into the hug, and place your hands on his back, squeezing to let him know you’re returning the gesture. His back is like marble under your touch, but warm, even through his jacket.

Eventually, the embrace ends, and though you loath to let him go, you release Theo. 

‘So, are we good? I mean, about yesterday? Whatever else happens going forward, can we acknowledge that I’m a dork, and I’ll promise to never over-react like that again if you’ll forgive me?’ you question, the tears finally drying up and a small smile now on your face.

Theo nods, and smiles his own smile, the one you’re getting more and more used to seeing. ‘Yeah, we’re okay.’

‘Good. Look, I do want to spend more time you, if that’s something you still want too. Do you?’

‘Yeah, definitely,’ he replies and your small smile grows larger, before you remember something.

‘Oh god, Malia probably thinks I got lost,’ you splutter frantically and head towards where you left her. Theo puts his hand on your shoulder and you stop.

‘It’s okay, don’t worry about Malia. Are you heading home now?’ he asks, and you nod.

‘D’you need a ride? I’ll ask Malia too, we can all go together.’

‘No, it’s fine, I need to get my bike or I’ll have to get the bus tomorrow. But I’m sure Malia will appreciate it. I’ll see you tomorrow?’ 

Theo nods, and you head back to Malia to pick up your bags. Theo follows, and as you leave, he begins to talk to Malia alone. You realise it’s the first time you’ve seen him alone with another pack member apart from Scott since he got to Beacon Hills – has he really been spending so much time with you that he’s not been able to talk to everyone else?

All you know for sure now is that you’re happy again. You may have made a colossal mistake, but you’ve managed to iron it out, and Theo still wants to spend time with you. With that massive error behind you, what could possibly go wrong now?


	6. Setting The Record Straight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during the events of Teen Wolf 5x06: Required Reading

What did Theo think he was playing at? After everything you’d been through already, you knew how much he wanted to make a good impression on the rest of the pack, and now he was putting Malia in danger and nearly getting her run over? You march down the corridor towards the school gym, with the intention of giving him a stern talking to. You spot Mason leaving the gym from the doorway ahead of you.

“Hey,” you call as he passes you, hurrying in the other direction. His gym bag is hastily thrown over his shoulder, and shower water still clings to his hair. “Is Theo still in there?” You neglect to mention that you’ve seen Theo in the gym after sixth period every day since the first day of school, so you already know he’s in there. It’s not like you’ve committed his workout schedule to memory or anything.

“Yeah, I think so. Why?” Mason questions, but you just nod and give him one of those ‘I’ll explain everything later’ looks. Behind you, he rolls his eyes, but doesn’t question. He knows better by now.

Your resolve begins to drain as you near the doorway to the gym. Are you really going to do this? You may be a part of the pack, but you’re still just the comparatively useless human. Even Stiles had that whole Nogitsune thing going on for a while. Can you really go and shout at a werewolf you barely know, who could rip your throat out with his teeth and probably hide the body without anyone knowing and – no, you can do this. You pick up your pace once more, taking a deep breath and rounding the corner.

Immediately you’re assailed by the usual mix of sweat, multiple deodorants mixed together, and more sweat that accompanies the school gym. You wonder how Scott and others manage their work-outs in here with their super-powered noses and everything. No, you’re getting off track again. You scan the room and see Theo, back to you, checking out the dumbbell rack. He’s wearing black sneakers, and gray tracksuit pants – and no shirt. Who works out with no shirt on, for crying out loud? God damn it, as if this wasn’t difficult enough.

Seeing the definition in his back is almost enough to cool the rest of your already quickly dissipating rage. This was a bad idea, a really bad idea. For the fifth time in as many minutes you consider turning around and going back the way you came, but then you remember Malia, Malia who always seems so sure of herself, even if she’s not sure about everything else going on around her, coming to you and telling you everything that happened the previous night, about the car ride with Theo, her flashbacks, nearly getting run over, and you push all your doubts to one side. She is your friend, and Theo needs to be reminded of that.

‘Are you just going to stand there staring all day, or do you want something? There seems to be a thing lately of people interrupting my workouts to shout at me.’ 

Theo’s voice shatters your reverie and you realise you’ve been staring at him, lost in thought. How long have you been standing there? Long enough for him to get a read off your chemo signals and realise you’re angry with him. Oh god, he probably thinks you’re a massive perv. But it doesn’t matter what he thinks, he’s the asshole in this situation, not you. Right? He grips the dumbbells he wants to use, and peers at you over his shoulder, his usual mischievous smirk on his face. His stupid, smug, handsome face.

You open your mouth to say something sarcastic and cutting, but all that comes out is ‘Uhh….’

Real articulate. Argument won, well done you.

You shake your head to clear the cobwebs, but now that Theo has turned around, you can see the rest of his well-defined torso in all its glory. You’d imagined what it was like underneath his tight t-shirts, but now it stands exposed, and it defies everything you ever thought it could be. He begins hefting the dumbbells that he selected from the rack in bicep curls, and you can see the sweat from the rest of his workout glistening on his forehead, running down the domes of his shoulders, and gracing the curves of his arms.

Focus!

‘Well?’

Again, Theo breaks your concentration, which is probably a good thing at this point.

‘As a matter of fact,’ you begin, having finally found your tongue (and pleased to see that your jaw hadn’t dropped as far as you’d imagined it had), ‘I do want to shout at you. No, I want to talk at you, and you’re going to listen.’ Silently pleased that you sounded sufficiently angry, you stomp closer. Not just so you can get a better view, obviously.

You walk around the row of weight machines you’d been lurking beside and face Theo, silently realising that there’s no one else in the gym right now. Surely there should be? People always used the gym after school. Why was there no one around to see you shout at the new kid and put him in his place (and stop you making a fool of yourself by gaping at him)? Because you are going to do just that. Yep.

‘My lips are sealed,’ Theo grunts, hefting the dumbbells again, another smirk playing about his lips. Stop looking at his lips. And leave his arms alone too, just because they’re huge, and you can’t describe how badly you want them wrapped around again like they were last night. You tear your eyes away from him, fixing on a point just above his head, and open your mouth again.

‘I want to know what you think you’re doing, taking Malia out in the car on her own. You must have seen her in driver’s ed., she’s hardly confident on the road. And yeah, you were there with her, but she doesn’t know you, not properly, so it was stupid and reckless and you put her and yourself in danger!’ You feel the anger that had fled a few minutes ago returning now that Theo is out of your line of sight. 

‘You could have both been killed. I know you didn’t know what was going to happen with the flashbacks, but when you said you were going to give her a ride, I thought you meant you were going to drive her, not the other way around.’ You’re getting into a stride now, and throw your arms up in frustration.

And then your eyes flick downwards, and it all goes to hell again. 

Theo’s eyes lock on yours once again, and as you gaze into the icey green that peers back at you, your train of thought decides to derail completely. He lowers the dumbbells for the final time, and replaces them on the rack behind him, again showing you his rippling back muscles. Before you can stop him, he turns back and smirks his stupid, adorable smirk.

‘I think I know what you’re really angry about,’ he says. What could he mean? You know why you’re angry…don’t you?

‘I think you’re just as mad at yourself for not coming with us, for not being there, as you are at me. Like you said, I didn’t know what was going to happen, I was just trying to help. You’re right, I’ve seen Malia in driver’s ed., and she could definitely do with the practise.

‘I honestly didn’t want anything bad to happen. You think if I did I would have thrown myself in front of that car? I may not be welcome in the pack just yet, but I know for a fact now after the last few days that this is where I’m supposed to be. With the pack, with Scott.’ His eyes catch yours again, ‘With you.’

Wait. What?

He moves past you, the moment shattered. Did he mean what you think he meant? You turn and see him sit down at the pec deck, hands flat on the pads. As he pushes them together, his chest, already impressive, flexes and you feel the blood flush your face. You shake yourself, and follow him over.

‘Don’t think you can flutter your eyelashes and get away with it, mister. You’re right, I am mad at myself, but that doesn’t mean I’m not still mad at you too. I’ve got my eye on you, Theo Raeken.’ Hell yes you do, you think, then smother the thoughts as soon as they rise, ‘And if you try anything like that with Malia again, I don’t care if you’re a werewolf or a weredragon or whatever, but you’ll have to deal with me.’

The threat is feeble, you realise, but hopefully you injected enough venom into it for Theo to take it seriously. Then you realise that he’s smirking again.

‘There are those eyes again. Your ‘Hurt my friends and you’ll wish you’d never been born’ eyes.’

You scowl, drag your gaze away from the sweat dripping down the indent between his pecs and over the slabs of his stomach and begin to stalk away.

‘Hey, wait a second!’ Theo’s voice rings out behind you, and you feel a pressure on your wrist as he reaches out and stops you in your tracks with inhuman strength. You try to wrench yourself away, but you already know that’s not going to work, so you turn back to him, keeping your eyes fixed on his sneakers. You can’t be attracted to sneakers, so that should be a safe bet.

And of course, that’s when Theo leans forward from the machine and tucks his fingers under your chin, drawing your head upwards until you’re looking right into his eyes, and you feel like you’re drowning in them. This close, you can see the light stubble dusting his chin, and the curve of his nose, how the sweat from his workout hangs on the edge of his hair. If words hadn’t failed you already, they would have fled now for sure. You mumble some kind of affirmative noise so that he knows you’re paying attention.

‘Don’t leave yet. I’ve got something I wanted to give you.’ He leans even closer, rising completely from the machine. His other hand grasps your waist, and he roughly pulls you towards him, his lips getting closer, closer still, until there’s barely any distance between them and yours at all. You feel yourself trying to remember why you were here again, but the closer his lips get, the more your thoughts slip away. Then his lips are on yours and nothing seems to matter anymore. This is your first kiss with Theo, your first kiss with anyone, and you lean into it, trying to make the moment last for as long as you can.

His hand drifts down from your chin to join the other on your waist, then even further down. He grasps your backside, and spins you towards the wall. Your back collides with the plaster, and your legs have somehow found themselves interlocked behind Theo’s back, and you feel dismay as his lips leave yours, only to be filled with ecstasy as they drift down your throat, planting kiss after kiss, light and quick. 

A moan escapes your lips, and all remaining traces of thoughts concerning Malia and your doubts about Theo leave your head as your hands grasp the swell of Theo’s biceps, revelling in their strength and how he effortlessly holds you off the floor. Your head tilts downwards, and you bury your head in his hair, taking in the scent of post-workout sweat.

Theo’s head rises again, and his lips part once more. As you lean down to join them with your own, words escape them instead.

‘I’ve never done anything like this before, not so quickly. I know I said I wanted to spend more time with you, and I do, but even I’m surprised at myself. When I’m around you, I don’t trust me. You bring something out in me that I’ve not felt in…a long time.’ His eyes flick downwards as if he doesn’t trust himself to speak further, as if a dark secret is on the tip of his tongue, but he can’t bring it to bear.

‘It’s okay,’ you say, only realising it’s you speaking when the words reach your own ears. ‘Take your time. You’ve got your secrets, I can see that, but I can also see that you mean it when you say you belong here with us, the pack, with…me,’ you tack on, ‘And I’m sure everyone else will realise it too eventually. We’ll all see the real you.’

Theo’s eyes darken, and you feel him tense against you. Are those tears at the corners of his eyes, or are you imagining things? You lean forward and plant a clumsy kiss on his cheek, intending to try and kiss the tears away, mirroring what he did for you the previous day with his hand.

‘That’s what I’m afraid of,’ he whispers, pulling away. Your feet touch the floor once again, and this time it’s you reaching out and grabbing his wrist as he tries to leave. You think he’d pull away again easily, werewolf strength and all, but he stops. You duck under his gaze, his eyes heavy lidded and avoiding yours, and kiss him full on this time, long, and deep. He doesn’t resist, but he doesn’t return the kiss, like he doesn’t feel he deserves it.

‘HEY. This is the gym, not the kissing booth! Get your asses on the machines, or get them out of here!’ the voice of Coach Finstock cracks the air, the tender moment smashed like a football through a stained glass window and your hand drops as Theo darts past the Coach, barely stopping to grab his shirt before fleeing the scene.

You can still feel the warmth on your hand of his wrist, the taste of him in your mouth. As you stand transfixed, looking at the doorway Theo just fled through you hear the sounds of other students now arriving. Where were they ten minutes ago to stop you making a fool of yourself? You can also vaguely hear Coach Finstock shouting some more, but it’s all background noise over the roar of blood in your ears.

Then you remember why you came to find Theo in the first place. Well. You sure showed him. 

And yet, despite wanting to warn Theo off hurting your friends, now you want nothing more than to see him again and find out what could possibly make someone so sure of themselves crack like he had. You already knew that there was a lot more to Theo than meets the eye, and now there’s only one way to find out all there is to know.

**** 

You stretch out your arms above your head, trying to unknot the ache in your back and yawn. Peering around the rest of the room, you realise that you’re the last one awake. Everyone bar Liam, who said he had somewhere to be tonight, had gathered together at Scott’s house in order to read through the Dread Doctors book and see if their memories came back to them, but it seemed to everyone else that the book was as boring and badly written as you thought, and they had all slowly drifted off to sleep. You glance around the room in the semi-darkness, the only light coming from one lamp left switched on.

Kira disappeared upstairs about half an hour ago, presumably to lie on Scott’s bed and try to get over her migraine. She seemed to be having the most trouble with the book, although you know she’s as good as reader as the rest of you. Lydia has her head back in the armchair, her legs tucked underneath her and the original copy of the Dread Doctors propped open on the side of the chair, but her eyes are closed and her breathing deep.

Across from her on the floor, Stiles’ head has lulled to one side and he’s leaned into a pillow stuffed up against Malia’s legs, his copy of the book discarded. Malia herself has fallen sideways on the sofa, the hood of her hoodie pulled up and another pillow propped under her head. Next to her, Scott seems to have collapsed, his head buried between the pillows of the sofa. You’re on the opposite armchair, your own copy of the book folded in half and stuffed down beside you. That just leaves Theo.

Theo, who you still hadn’t spoken to since earlier this afternoon in the gym. Even when you’d all arrived at Scott’s house earlier, he’d avoided eye contact and not spoken to you. It looks like the shoe was on the other foot for a change; now he was the one avoiding you instead of you fleeing at the sight of him. But where was he now? Then you realise that there’s a light coming in from the kitchen, so you quietly shift your blanket onto the floor and creep out of the living room, leaving your sleeping friends to their hopefully Dread Doctor-less dreams.

As you expected, you find Theo brewing another pot of coffee. You cough slightly to let him know you’re there, not wanting to scare him so that he scalds himself. Of course, he probably already knew, werewolf ears and all, but some habits die hard. You see him tense as he acknowledges your presence, and he closes his eyes like he’s preparing for something he’s not looking forward to.

‘Hey,’ you whisper, and cross the room. You keep your distance, not sure if he’s going to speak to you, or if he’ll continue trying to avoid you. He slowly opens his eyes, very deliberately pours himself a cup of coffee, and replaces the coffee pot. He adds milk and sugar, all without looking at you, and then takes a sip before setting the cup back down with a small clunk. Only then does he turn towards you, his face impassive.

‘Hey.’ 

‘Are…you okay?’ you probe. You don’t want to bring up earlier before he does, but it’s obviously hanging between you like a weight in the air, and sooner or later you’ll have to broach the subject. He looks away again, and sips his coffee.

‘Look, I don’t know what you want me to say,’ he begins.

‘I don’t want you to say anything,’ you interrupt, ‘just be honest with me. Do you…regret what happened earlier?’

‘No!’ Theo blurts, then catches himself and calms down. ‘No. I don’t regret it. I just don’t know what came over me, like I said I’ve never moved that fast with someone before. You already know I think you’re pretty amazing, and now it’s like…I’ve ruined the moment.’

‘Far from it,’ you reassure him, and move closer. He doesn’t move away, and you take his free hand, the one not holding the coffee, in one of yours. You stand there for a while, both silent, simply enjoying the touch of your hands. He sips his coffee some more, and you can feel him caressing your knuckles with his fingertips whilst keeping his hand entwined in yours. Finally, you break the silence.

‘If you think that’s too fast, we can take it slower. We’ve only known each other a few days, there’s plenty of time for more of…that,’ you incline your head, indicating the day’s earlier events, ‘I’m just happy that you’re alright. When you ran off, I realised how horrible it must have felt when I did it, having like, bared your soul and then leaving me with nothing else to go on. When you didn’t speak to me earlier I thought we’d blown it again.’

‘I just didn’t know what to say. And I didn’t want to say anything in front of Scott and the others and embarrass you.’

‘You’re sweet, Theo. You may be a mystery man, but you’re sweet. And I do know one thing I’d like to do, even if it still counts as moving a little fast,’ you state, looking over at him with a twinkle in your eye. That elicits Theo’s trademark smirk, and you know you’re back on good standing again.

‘And what might that be?’ he asks.

You lean over to him as he takes his coffee cup from his lips, and kiss him. Not roughly or clumsily like earlier, but tenderly. When you looked back over your time with Theo in the future, this would be what you classed as your first proper kiss with him. His lips part and you can taste the coffee on them as he returns your affection. You feel his arms shift, and he puts the coffee cup down behind him on the counter to free up his hands. He moves them to the side of your face, and deepens the kiss. Your own hands make their way to Theo, sliding his blue sweatshirt up with one of them, to caress his chiselled back with your fingers, learning every inch of him, taking the time you felt you didn’t have earlier when you were caught up in the moment.

Now, you can take all the time in the world. 

Eventually, you both separate; your hand withdraws from his skin, already growing cold without his touch, and his drop from your face. You both open your eyes whilst still within kissing distance, and for the first time it seems like all of Theo’s barriers are down, even if just momentarily.

‘Let’s do that more often,’ you tell him, ‘I think I’d like to definitely do that more often.’

‘I agree,’ Theo assures you, and his smile has returned. ‘But maybe next time we can do it somewhere a bit less public? The gym was nice, but it stinks in there, and Scott’s house feels kind of intrusive, y’know?’

You laugh softly, and flash him a smile in return. ‘Yeah, I know what you mean. I’m gunna go back and try to finish the chapter I was on, and then turn in for the night. We’re not going to get this book finished tonight, none of us. Are you coming back in?’

Theo had been sitting on the floor in the living room, but you envision the pair of you now tucked under your blanket together. Unfortunately, your dream isn’t to be, not tonight anyway.

‘I’m gunna head home in a bit actually. I just wanna check on Kira, and then I’ve gotta get back. I’ll see you tomorrow though?’

He must see the sadness flicker across your face, but you try to hide it with a smile anyway, and a quick nod. 

‘Sure. I’ll see you tomorrow.’ You lean over and give him another quick kiss, just so you can have the taste of him linger a little longer, and to leave him with a parting gift. You head back to the living room and plop back into your armchair. You see Theo sneak up the stairs behind you; it’s sweet of him to check on everyone before he goes.

You don’t see him leave, because the next thing you know it’s early the following morning, and you’re waking up to the sound of Stiles, Malia, Lydia, and Scott racing around the house trying to get ready for school. You stretch, mirroring your pose from earlier that night, and push the blanket off of you.

‘Hey,’ Scott calls, a piece of hastily buttered toast in one hand and a pair of clean socks in the other.

‘Morning,’ you reply, ‘what’s up?’

‘Did you finish the book last night? I think pretty much everyone fell asleep.’

You shake your head, but you know you only have a few chapters to go. ‘I’ll finish it this morning, I’m nearly done. What about you guys?’

‘Kira’s nowhere near done, but I think Lydia and Stiles had like a few pages left so they’re going to finish it off before we go to school. I’ve got a chapter and a half, so I’ll cram that…sometime soon.’ He dashes off into the kitchen, but calls back ‘Did you see Theo leave?’

‘Yeah, he left just after midnight. Everyone was asleep, so he just crept out. I think he must have finished the book though, because he left his copy here.'

'Huh, okay. I guess we’ll see him at school,’ Scott calls back.

You definitely hope so. For the first time in the few days since school started, you feel like you know exactly where you stand with everyone. Yeah, there’s the Dread Doctors, and homicidal chimeras everywhere you turn, but you know your friends have got your back, and you finally seem to be making some headway with the Theo situation. You instinctively know that whatever happens next, you’ll be able to deal with it. Together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is actually the first of the story I wrote; the scene between Malia and Theo which this chapter echoes was very...inspirational in making me want to write the entire story, so if this one seems a bit too similar to the show, that's probably why. I thought about changing it up a little when I went back to it, but decided to leave it the way it was. Call me sentimental.


	7. Theo's True Face?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during the events of Teen Wolf 5x07: Strange Frequencies

You grasp the handle of the door to the animal clinic, feeling the cold metal beneath your fingers, and pull it open as quietly as you can. You slip inside the clinic, and silently (to your ears, anyway) slide the door closed again. The ‘closed’ sign is up on the door, but you (like the rest of the pack) know where Deaton keeps the spare key in case of emergencies. The supernatural kind, as well as the ‘my dog’s in pain’ kind.

After the crazy events of last night, with the chimera on the roof of the hospital and the new revelation that Hayden was actually another chimera herself, you’re not sure whether you’re coming or going. It seems that Scott and Lydia are handling the majority of the plan, and you’ll head back and join them soon enough. But before that, and before Stiles gets here, you wanted to check in on Theo and see if he was okay. Okay, maybe you just wanted some more alone time, but hey, your heart’s in the right place, even if your motivations aren’t. Plus, hanging around with a dead body for company all day probably wasn’t that much fun. He’d welcome the distraction. You hope.

You tiptoe into the back area of the clinic, careful not to let your chucks squeak on the floor as you do your best ninja impression and try to find Theo before he hears you. You’re almost 100% sure that this plan will fail and he’s already well aware of you, but again, your heart’s in the right place. Eventually you only have one room left, the operating room in which Tracey had recently paralyzed you all with her Kanima venom.

The door is slightly ajar, so you peek around the edge of it. Theo has his back to you again, like when you found him at the coffee pot the night before last. Was it really not that long ago? With all the Dread Doctor madness going on, time isn’t passing the way it’s supposed to. From the back, you can see once again how well he fills out his jeans and his broad shoulders under his sleeveless grey jacket. Not that the black hoodie he wears underneath it leaves much to the imagination either, come to think of it.

‘I know you’re there, you know. Even without werewolf hearing, I’d have heard your heart beating a mile away,’ Theo comments without turning around. ‘What’s got you so excited? Dead bodies? Potential death?’

‘I don’t think so,’ you reply, and step into the room properly. Theo turns around now, and you can see the stubble that lightly dusted his chin before has grown out; he hasn’t had much time to shave during the past few days, but it doesn’t bother you. In fact, you kind of like it. A smile fills his face as he takes you in, and you feel a thrill inside as you realise that you still haven’t seen him give that smile to anyone but you.

‘I just came over to see how you’re doing. We’re all heading to the school soon, and Stiles is coming over to keep you company in case the body snatcher turns up,’ you inform Theo, whose smile soon droops.

‘Great, Stiles is just who I wanted to spend the evening with,’ he says sarcastically and crosses the room. He leans on the counter, head tilted to look at you and not the dead body of Josh on the operating table. Luckily, he was under a sheet – you didn’t really want to see more death than you had to.

You join Theo, facing and leaning alongside him. Your fingers brush his hand as you get comfortable, and that tingle you get whenever he touches you, or you him, returns. A tingle that is getting to be a very familiar sensation and one you enjoy more and more as you experience it. 

‘I tried to fight him for it, but Stiles is tougher than he looks. I think he really wanted to be here with you. Should I be jealous?’ you tease. Theo looks thoughtful for a moment, and you playfully slap the top of his shoulder. ‘Hey! If that’s the case, then I’ll have to give him a rematch.’

‘It’s okay,’ Theo replies, ‘You’ll probably be more use at the school anyway. Watching a dead body isn’t really that interesting. And if you were here, I don’t think either of us would focus on what we were supposed to be doing. Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll be able to resist Stiles for a few hours,’ he teases back.

‘You better, or I’ll…actually, I won’t have to do anything. You’d have Malia to deal with, and you’re already in her bad books,’ you retort matter-of-factly. You look downcast at the idea that Theo could be looking at anyone other than you, especially Stiles of all people, and your cunning plan succeeds.  
‘Listen to me,’ Theo says, a serious edge to his voice now. You look up, a smirk that could make Theo himself jealous plastered onto your face as he looks you right in the eye, but despite your playfulness, he reassures you with overwhelming sincerity. ‘You have nothing to worry about. From Stiles, or anyone else. Haven’t I made it clear that it’s you I want to spend time with?’

‘I’m just being mean, Theo,’ you soothe him. ‘It’s not often I’m able to put you on the back foot.’ Suitably satisfied that you’re only kidding around, the smirk returns to Theo’s own face and he looks over at Josh’s body on the operating table.

‘I hate this. No one should die when they haven’t even lived their lives.’ You can hear the sorrow filling his voice, and you remember that his sister was around Josh’s age when she died. You instinctively move closer to him to try and reassure him. You sling your arm around one shoulder, and rest your head on the other.

‘We’re doing our best, everyone is. Scott’s got a plan, and he always knows what he’s doing. Even if he doesn’t think he does. He’s our alpha for a reason; we all trust him, and he trusts us too. If anyone can work out how to stop these Dread Doctors and stop people dying, it’s Scott.’

Theo leans over and touches your head with his. A deep sigh escapes his lips, and he whispers the next sentence so quietly you barely hear it.

‘I hope you’re right.’

You rest there for a while; you’re not sure how long. The warmth of Theo, the feeling of safety that comes with his closeness, making you feel like there’s nowhere else in the world you’d rather be. You’re not even looking at each other, but you don’t need to. Just being in each other’s presence is enough. But of course, like all your stolen moments with him, this comes to an end all too quickly. It’s Theo that breaks contact first, tilting his head back up and shrugging your arm off.

‘Sorry, my neck was falling asleep. I think you should probably go – the sun’s going down, and you need to get to the school, in case Scott and Lydia need your help.’

Reluctantly, you stand up straight and stretch. Theo’s right, but a not-so-small part of you doesn’t want to admit it, and an even larger part of you wants to just ignore him and stay right where you are. But Hayden’s safety comes first, so you nod instead.

‘Be careful,’ Theo warns as you go to leave. ‘Come back to me in one piece.’

Come back to me, you notice he says. That warm feeling you get being around him grows in your chest, and you turn back with a goofy grin on your face.

‘You got it. We’ll be safe as houses; we know that high school inside out. You be careful too,’ you add.

‘I don’t think Josh is going to put up much of a fight now,’ Theo replies.

‘I was talking about Stiles,’ you quip, and head out of the door without another word. As you leave, you hear a strange chittering noise, like a hundred cockroaches all trying to tune a hundred tiny cockroach radios. You look backwards and forwards, but the animal clinic is deserted except for you, Theo, and Josh’s prone form. You frown, but put it to the back of your mind and leave. Theo’s right – Scott might need you.

****

You definitely get all the fun jobs, you think as you stand in the school car park, waiting for…something. Scott and Lydia are with Liam and Hayden in the locker room, and Parrish (you still can’t quite bring yourself to call him Jordan – although you’ve noticed that Lydia doesn’t seem to have as much of a problem) is in the bus park on the other side of the school. Malia is patrolling the hallways, and all of you are on the lookout for the first sign of the Dread Doctors. Whatever that would look like.

So instead of spending time with Theo in the animal clinic, you’re out here in the car park, freezing cold, and not sure what you’re meant to be doing. You’d never seen the Dread Doctors up close before. You weren’t at the club when Scott and Liam fought Lucas, and you weren’t at the hospital when Malia and Scott’s mom saved him from his asthma attack, either. So this could be your first real encounter with the steampunk scientists, and you weren’t looking forward to it.

Scott had given specific instructions to get inside as soon as you saw them coming – Malia had barely staggered the Doctor that attacked at the hospital, and with no supernatural powers of your own, he was doubtful you’d do much better. You shared his doubts, if you were perfectly honest, but you were worried about putting all your faith in Parrish and Lydia’s frequency modulators. They looked too…flimsy to be of use.

You peer out into the gloom, squinting your eyes, hoping to catch sight of something in the rapidly dimming streetlights. You can see your bike, the only one hooked up at the bike rails, since it’s the weekend. The car park itself is empty – Parrish’s car is around the back, so at least he had somewhere warm to sit and wait. The moon is obscured behind clouds, only a small amount of light filtering through to illuminate the scene.

You blink back sleep. This wasn’t how you’d pictured your Saturday night. That said you’d spent many a Saturday night doing weirder things since moving to Beacon Hills, so you can hardly complain. You wiggle a finger around in your ear, trying to dislodge the ringing that has suddenly taken hold in your head. A futile move, but it makes you feel better, even if it has no effect. The buzzing gets progressively louder, and you’re an inch away from running into the school to alert Scott and your friends, thinking this might be the signal that precedes the arrival of the Dread Doctors, but as suddenly as the noise started, it stops. You blink again, and look around the car park in case something slipped into your vision while you were distracted, but everything looks the same as it did before.

Except for the sight of Theo leaning up against your bike, that is. 

You gape incredulously – what was he doing here? He was meant to be with Stiles at the animal clinic, where you’d left him not hours before. You storm over, a demand for an explanation already forming on your lips, but as you approach, it dies on your tongue before you can give it voice, because Theo closes the distance between you and kisses you full on. It’s the most passionate kiss you’ve ever had, full of emotion, your heads bobbing and weaving with the waves of the kiss. His hands are holding your face close to his, as if he never wants to let you go again, and you forget about everything else you’re meant to be doing – the Dread Doctors, the chimeras, everything in the world just falls away as you focus on Theo and Theo alone, Theo kissing you and you kissing him back.

Eventually, you both come up for air. You stand with your eyes closed, Theo’s hands still on your cheeks, and a satisfied smile on your face. 

‘That, to quote Mason,’ you tell him, ‘was intense. 

‘But Theo,’ you ask, ‘what’re you doing here? You’re meant to be with Stiles at the clinic.’ You open your eyes to search his face for answers, but you instantly wish you hadn’t. His face is twisted into a sinister grin unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. It’s almost like a sadistic glee, like he’s enjoying this for all the wrong reasons, and you’re not sure what’s come over him. You step back, pushing Theo’s hands from your face, wanting no contact with him at all, never again if he’s going to look at you like that.

‘I wanted to see you,’ Theo says, his voice dripping with malice. He steps towards you and you back away. His strides are longer than yours, and eventually you back into the steps behind you, falling backwards and grazing your hands as you throw them out to catch yourself. Theo looms over you, that smile still contorting his usually soft features into a hideous grimace. It’s like something out of a comic book, like an expression that the Joker would wear. It frightens you to the very core, but now that you’re on the floor, you’re paralyzed and unable to move as Theo moves closer.

‘Why are you doing this? What’s the matter with you?’ you plead with Theo. How can he have changed so drastically since this morning at the clinic?

‘Nothing’s the matter. This is who I really am. It’s who you all think I am, so I’m here to prove you right,’ Theo snarls. He whips his head backwards and forwards, and his face shifts into his werewolf form. The little stubble you were appreciating earlier lengthens and gives his face a more brutal, animalistic edge, and his teeth, no; his fangs are bared at you, making his evil smile even more threatening. His eyes glow a violent shade of yellow, a sickening colour you’ve never seen in Scott or Liam’s eyes before, and as he raises his hands, you can see the nails on the ends of his fingers have lengthened into claws. Claws that can rip and tear, so recently used to protect but now turned on you.

You can feel tears filling your eyes, and you try to scrabble up the stairs before Theo can do something horrible.

‘Theo, please…’ you beg, but he simply growls at you again, freezing you in place.

‘Please what?’ he roars, ‘Please don’t hurt me? Please be with me? Please Theo, make me feel wanted and important when everyone in the pack can see that I’m the most useless one, and that no one cares about me as much as I care about them?’

His words are cutting, the sting of them backed by your own self-doubts. He’s voicing everything you’ve worried about since joining the pack, but you thought you’d put that all behind you. Almost as bad is the look on his face and how his usual air of calm and comfort has morphed into one of pure danger.

‘This isn’t you! Why are you saying those things? I thought you…cared about me!’ you shout at him. He’s admiring his claws in the moonlight, knowing that he’s got you cornered.

‘Isn’t me? You don’t know me!’ he growls back. ‘You’ve known me all of what, a week? And you think you know who I am? You don’t have a clue. But I know everything about you. You’re so shallow and desperate, clinging to me every chance you get. Don’t you get it? You’re pathetic, and no one will ever love you. Not the pack. Not your friends. And especially not me.’

Now you can feel the tears flowing freely, and you gasp like his words have physically struck you. You look up at the werewolf standing over you, and realise he’s right – you have no idea who this is. It’s not the Theo you knew, if you ever knew him at all. And now you’ll never get the chance to.

‘Let me show you something,’ he sneers, and without another word he slams his hand down onto your chest. You feel his claws penetrate, digging into your skin and through into the sensitive organs beneath. Blood fills your mouth and you choke, the pain is almost unbearable, but the amusement on Theo’s face makes it even worse.

He draws out a pulpy mass of black and red tissue, convulsing in his hand. You realise it’s your heart. He’s literally holding your heart in his hand, and as you realise this, you feel the life begin to seep out of you.

‘So this is what you’ve been so eager to give me. Why would I want your heart? How could I love someone as needy and useless as you? This is what I think of your heart.’ 

He clenches his fist, and your heart splatters into pieces, staining his face with your still-hot blood. You can see it on his fangs, on his face, caught in his hair. He licks his lips and runs his tongue over the edge of his fangs, enjoying the taste. He’s right, no one could ever love you – how could you have been so stupid to hope someone like him could?

The last thing you see is Theo Raeken, the one you thought you were falling in love with, and who you thought might love you back, standing over you with the bloody remains of your heart dripping between his fingers, face contorted into a look of pure contempt; contempt for you, for your feelings for him, and for your very existence…

Unbeknownst to you, three figures stalk past your body. You lay on the stairs, convulsing as if you’re in shock, but your body is perfectly fine. Theo is nowhere to be seen – he was never there in the first place. The Dread Doctors have used your fears and insecurities against you, and now their path is clear to reach their true goal – Hayden. 

You’ve failed your friends, and when you realise this, it hurts even worse than everything the hallucination of Theo could ever have said to you, all those things that you thought you didn’t believe anymore, but that sit in the back of your mind even now; the thought that you could be useless to the pack, that you could hurt your friends by not being capable enough to save them. And now, the phantom Theo’s words have come true, and you almost wish he had killed you, so you didn’t have to feel this way anymore.


	8. Perfect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during the events of Teen Wolf 5x08: Ouroboros

The door slams, leaving you, Lydia, Theo, and Corey alone, looking around at each other awkwardly. The last few minutes have been rough, and no one’s exactly sure what to say now. It feels like Scott’s agitation has spread to the entire pack, but instead of you all reacting rashly like you feel Scott has, it’s got you all wound up with nowhere to direct your energies. Even the air itself feels charged.

Lydia breaks the silence first, moving to Corey’s side and putting her hand on his arm reassuringly.

‘Let’s go get something to eat,’ she instructs, and pulls him out of Scott’s living room towards the kitchen. ‘All that excitement has me famished, and I’m sure your neck will heal faster if you’ve got some protein in you.’ 

Corey just looks bemused; the poor kid has been wrapped up in something he’s completely unprepared for – the very definition of out of his depth. He lets Lydia drag him away, and as the pair disappears around the corner, Lydia shoots you a look, motioning to Theo with her chin. She’s known something was off since the previous day when you came running into the school to find everyone in the locker room; everyone except Liam and Hayden. Lydia was always the perceptive one, even before you all discovered her Banshee abilities.

It’s just you and Theo now, alone in the living room. And he seems to have realised that too.

He moves towards you, and takes your hands from behind, but you recoil at his touch and dart away. The memory of the previous night, the phantom Theo that the Dread Doctors exposed you to is still far too fresh in your mind. You know it’s irrational, that this is the real Theo, not some twisted version that wants to hate and hurt you, but you can’t forget the feeling you had when he literally tore open your chest and crushed your heart. Subtle, he was not.

‘Well, that’s not the reaction I expected,’ Theo comments, but he doesn’t move towards you again – maybe it’s not just Lydia who’s perceptive.

‘I’d ask if you were okay, but I think that’d be a waste of time,’ he muses, and you slowly turn to face him. Once again, you find yourself fighting back tears in his presence, but this time for a whole different reason. As he sees your eyes welling up, his expression changes from confusion to almost anger.

‘What’s wrong? Has someone hurt you?’ he asks, and this time makes an involuntary step towards you, which again makes you recoil. You shake your head and try to avoid his gaze, but your eyes are drawn to his face, the concern and anger mixing together there making your heart break even further. How could you feel scared of someone who so obviously cares about you, and yet…?

‘No, it’s…I’m fine,’ you try to brush him off, but then the lump in your throat catches once again, and the tears fall freely. 

‘No, I’m not fine!’ you almost shout, and this time when Theo moves towards you, folding you into his arms and holding you close to him, you don’t resist anymore.

‘Ssshh, it’s alright, I’m here,’ Theo reassures you. He strokes the back of your head with his hand, his strong arms wrapped around you like a protective cocoon against the world, against your nightmare.

‘When the Doctors came last night,’ you begin, head nestled into his chest and unable to look up at him, for fear of the expression you might see there – malice and hate like last night, or sadness and love like the day before. You tell him everything you saw, and how you felt as you ‘died’, and he listens in silence, his presence constant and reassuring as you pour out your heart to his chest.

‘I know it wasn’t you,’ you finish, ‘but what I saw, it was all grounded in truth somewhere – that’s why it hurts so much. I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t think I wasn’t scared you didn’t like me that way, or that you thought I was beneath you. I let my feelings for you and my insecurities about how other people see me get in the way, and now Hayden and Liam are gone, and it’s all my fault!’ You pound on his chest weakly with one hand to punctuate your anger.

A renewed bout of tears soaks your cheeks again, and since you’ve nothing left to say, you let them run. You can feel yourself shaking with the sobs, pressed up against Theo, but he doesn’t move at all. Instead, he whispers in your ear.

‘Look at me.’

Tentatively you look up, and meet his gaze head on. His face couldn’t be further from the horrible visage you were presented with the previous night on the phantom Theo – there’s no trace of hatred or disgust, no anger or malice. Instead, he has a tender look of concern, and a small smile dragging at the corner of his mouth. Not a smirk, nor his full smile, the one you always seem to bring out in him, but a twitching little smile that you’ve never seen before.

‘You know that was all a dream, right? The Dread Doctors did something to your head, just like they did to Scott, Malia, and Lydia. It’s not your fault Liam and Hayden are missing – Scott will find them, and nothing bad’s going to happen to them. 

‘And no matter what he said to you last night, that wasn’t me. I don’t feel that way about you at all, and you should know that too. I care about you, a lot. More than I’ve cared about anyone for a long time. And I won’t let anything hurt you. Not the Dread Doctors, not a chimera, not a weirdo ghost version of me. I know you can look after yourself, probably just as well as the rest of your pack, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to look out for you too.’

You feel your mouth turn into a smile of your own, and brush away your tears with a sleeve. You and Theo break away from your embrace, and he looks back at you with genuine affection. How could you have thought anything that the phantom Theo said was true, when the real Theo looks at you like that?

‘You know just what to say, Theo Raeken,’ you tell him.

‘It’s a gift,’ he replies, and shrugs.

‘What’re we going to do about Liam and Hayden? I feel so useless here. I know it’s not my fault they’re missing, but I just feel like there’s something more we should do, something we’re not seeing. Scott’s been in such a state since they were taken, but I just feel like something’s wrong,’ you say to him, looking at him with pleading eyes.

‘I thought Lydia was the one with the psychic powers,’ Theo replies, bemused, but he nods seriously. ‘I’ll go talk to Corey again, see if there’s anything else he remembers. Maybe it’ll help.’

As Theo leaves you alone in the living room, you sit down and wipe away the last of your tears. You promise yourself then and there that you wouldn’t cry in front of Theo again – he’s seen way too many of your tears over the last few days, and if he thinks you’re as strong as the rest of the pack, then you’ll damn well show him that he’s right. When Theo returns a few minutes later with new information from Corey about a basement containment cell, he smiles.

‘That’s the old you,’ he comments, and points behind you. 

You turn towards Scott’s wall mirror, and for the first time, you see what he means about your expression. Your eyes are fixed and determined, a steely frown emblazoned on your brow, daring anyone to challenge you because you’d meet it head on. You feel pride in yourself well up – even if you’re not as physically strong or supernaturally gifted like the others, you do have something; an unshakeable bond with your friends that your expression now illustrates. No one will hurt you or your friends again, and as Theo marches across the room and takes your hand to lead you out of Scott’s house, you feel confirmation of something you’d been thinking about for the last few days: That bond now extends to him too. 

You know he’s still hiding things, a dark past that’s full of pain, but you’re certain now – no one will hurt him again, not while you’re around. You cast your mind back to the first time he mentioned your eyes, the fierce and protective way you looked at your friends, and how he’d wanted you to look at him in the same way. It looks like he got his wish.

**** 

Theo slams his foot on the brakes and rockets out of his car, leaving the door open behind him. He speeds towards the empty house, and you slam the door closed as quickly as you can so you can chase after him. After some prodding from Theo and Lydia, Corey revealed that he remembered a basement in a house, eerily identical to the story that Parrish had told Lydia about the werewolf with the neon claws that started this whole mess. You and Theo had hurried over here as fast as Beacon Hills speed limits would allow, leaving Lydia and Corey alone.

‘I’ve tried calling Scott, Malia, and Mason all the way over here,’ you gasp as Theo kicks down the door of the house and heads into the blackness inside. ‘But I think the water treatment plant’s blocking their signal – I can’t get through. I’ve text Lydia and she’s going to keep trying. Theo, are you even listening to me?’

Theo stops in the foyer of the abandoned building and looks back at you, an urgent look on his face.

‘Of course I am, but it doesn’t matter. Liam and Hayden are here, I can smell them. C’mon, we need to hurry,’ he snaps and begins to head off again. 

‘Wait!’ you call, and he stops yet again. 

‘What?!’ he nearly shouts.

‘I know we need to save our friends, but if this is where the Dread Doctors keep their experiments, shouldn’t we be a little quieter? What if they’re still here?’ you wonder, looking around warily. You’re being extra cautious, if only to compensate for Scott’s rash behaviour earlier.

‘If they were here, they’d have heard us kick down the door and been on top of us already. Now are we going to save Liam and Hayden, or not?’ 

Without waiting for an answer, Theo heads off again. He opens a cupboard under the stairs, and descends the steps set underneath them. You wonder how he knew they were there, but it’s probably a werewolf scent thing, so you shrug it off, cross the room and follow him. He’s probably right – if the Dread Doctors were there, they’d have found you by now.

At the bottom of the stairs you find Theo standing in front of a large hole in the wall. Behind it, a chainlink fence stretches across the opening and you can see two figures crouched in the darkness beyond. A hole in the ceiling here gives the room an eerie light, as if it needed to be even more spooky. It’s not like it was a holding cell for creepy steampunk scientists or anything. Oh, wait.

‘I am the help,’ Theo says to the figures behind the fence, answering a question they must have posed while you were catching up with him, and as you get closer you realise it is indeed Liam and Hayden. Both of them look tired and covered in concrete dust, but they’re alive and seemingly unharmed. Relief spreads through you, only to be replaced by fear once again as Theo grips the chainlink fence. Electricity arcs across his body and you can see him tense up from the pain. As you watch, you can see his nails extending into claws, and you’re sure that if you stood the other side, his eyes would be piercing yellow and his fangs would be fully extended as he draws on his supernatural strength to break the electrified fence apart. 

He howls in anger and exertion, and it echoes around the building. His arms tense even further, and finally you see the magnetic lock holding the two halves of the fence begin to give. It’s a black strip, placed between the two halves, holding the gate closed with an electromagnetic current – probably drawing power from the same source as the electricity that even now strikes Theo. It would be a beautiful sight if it wasn’t so deadly. Eventually Theo’s strength overcomes the magnetic attraction between the two halves of the fence, and it slides open. He releases the fence as the halves slide away, electricity still dancing across his skin, but he staggers upright and manages to stay on his feet.

‘Are you alright?’ you ask as you stumble to his side. You’re amazed – you definitely couldn’t have done that, the pain must have been immeasurable. Theo bends over; resting his hands on his knees and waves you away.

‘I’m fine; I’ll be alright in a second. Get them out of there!’ he stammers, and with one more look at his now slightly charred but still handsome face, you head into the gap between the fence, careful not to touch either side, and hug Liam and Hayden together.

‘We thought…’ Hayden begins, but you silence her with your hug.

‘We’re here to get you out of here, don’t worry. Everything’s going to be okay.’ 

‘Where’s Scott?’ Liam asks, his face screwed up in concern. You realise then just how young he really is, and how quickly he’s had to grow up since being bitten by Scott last year. You smile again, and dismiss his question.

‘Scott’s fine, everyone’s fine. Let’s get out of here.’

You break away from the hug, and smile again at them both. Theo joins you, and throws Liam’s arm over his shoulder. You copy him, holding Hayden up, and the four of you ascend the stairs and head back to Theo’s car. Before Theo can slide into the driver’s seat, you’ve slipped past him and dropped into it yourself. He looks at you quizzically.

‘Hey, just because I ride a bike doesn’t mean I failed driver’s ed.’ You wink slyly at him, and hold a hand out for the keys. ‘Besides, you might still be electrically charged – you don’t want to blow up your own car, do you?’

Reluctantly, Theo drops the car keys into your hand and disappears around the other side of the car. Hayden leans forward, her hand gripped to her side to hold in the pain from a wound you hadn’t noticed before, that the Dread Doctors no doubt inflicted on her while she was their captive.

‘Something you want to tell us?’ she asks mischievously, but her face soon contorts in pain and she leans back again. Beside her, Liam puts his arm around her almost involuntarily, but she doesn’t resist – obviously these two have come a long way in the past few days too. Just like you and Theo.

‘I could ask you the same thing,’ you reply, as Theo practically falls into the passenger seat beside you. You put the key in the ignition and twist, the car springing to life under your hands. Before you can pull away, Theo’s hand rests over yours on the steering wheel, and he leans across to you.

‘Just to check, in case I’m still charged like you said,’ he says and as you look up at him puzzled, he kisses you. You feel a spark jump from his tongue to yours, but it only enhances the pleasure. As you break contact, he whispers so only you can hear him.

‘I’ll take that as a yes.’

You pull away, aware of Liam and Hayden’s eyes on you from the back seat. You’ve not actually told anyone about your feelings for Theo – even Lydia who might have inferred it all already hadn’t had actual confirmation from your lips. You look back at Hayden sheepishly.

‘I guess we’ve all got a little catching up to do,’ you say, and she greets you with a smile, while Liam just looks confused. Confused, and exhausted. Theo slumps back in his seat, the exertion of his electrically charged rescue clearly impacting him more than he let on. You smile to yourself and gun the engine – it’s time to get this pack back together.

****

You look around Scott’s living room, realising it’s literally been only 24 hours since last night’s craziness with the Dread Doctors at the school. Liam and Hayden are curled up on the sofa, under a blanket. And most importantly, safe. Both of them are healing rapidly now that they’re away from the Doctors and their experiments, and even while sleeping they look to be smiling. You find yourself smiling too, and Theo catches your eye from across the room as you do.

‘Jealous?’ he asks, indicating the sleeping pair.

‘Oh yeah, I’d much rather be wrapped up in Liam’s arms, totally,’ you reply with mock sadness. ‘Instead I’m stuck here with you. Whatever will I do?’

‘Hey, first Stiles, now Liam? Am I going to have to fight your entire pack to get to you? Because I will, you know I will,’ Theo replies, but he’s onto your joke and playing along. He’s sitting on one of Scott’s armchairs, while you’ve just collected a bottle of water from the kitchen. 

Scott has gone over to Kira’s house to say goodbye – the Kitsune within her has been unbalanced by the Dread Doctors’ experiments, and she’s leaving with her parents in order to find a way to restore her control over her powers. Malia, Lydia, Mason, and Corey left a while back, leaving just you and Theo watching over the sleeping pair. 

‘Hey, it’s your pack too,’ you inform him, ‘At least, if you ask me it is. But I’m sure after everything you did today, Scott and the others won’t have any problems with you anymore. You really came through today Theo.’

He glows under the praise and beams his smile at you. It’s like a lighthouse in the night – after all the madness of the past few days, you can see your safe haven, and it’s the person behind that smile. It’s Theo.

‘D’you think everyone’s on to us? They keep leaving us alone together, like they’re doing it on purpose,’ you observe. ‘I think Lydia’s worked out what’s going on, at least. And obviously Hayden and Liam aren’t blind, especially after your little stunt in the car earlier.’

‘Would you prefer I hadn’t kissed you?’ Theo questions, ‘Because I thought we both agreed that we wanted to do that a lot more often.’

You grin at him again and cross the room, setting your bottle of water on the coffee table. Theo pulls you onto his lap and you lower your head down to his waiting lips. It’s a tender kiss, one full of relief that you’ve both survived the day, and knowing you can take comfort in each other’s presence. 

‘Does that answer your question?’ you ask him, and he nods. You drop off of his lap and sit on the floor to the side of the armchair. Theo’s hand drops to your shoulder, and you meet it with your own. 

‘You know what?’ you ask, an idea forming in your head. Theo makes an inquisitive noise, so you know he’s listening.   
‘I think we should actually go on a date at some point. Yeah, there’s Dread Doctors and chimeras and all this other stuff going on, but if we can’t find time for ourselves now, when will we? We don’t know when or how this is going to end.’

‘You mean making out in the school gym while Coach watches and rescuing trapped friends from crazy douchebags aren’t dates? I’m going to have to go right back to first date jitters?’ Theo asks. You slap his leg with your hand, and laugh quietly.

‘You know what I mean, you dork,’ you reply. ‘We should do something, just the two of us. No pack nonsense or Dread Doctors to deal with, just us.’

Theo thinks about it for a while, then whispers quietly ‘Yeah, that’d be nice.’

‘Picnic at Eichen House sound good to you?’ you tease, and Theo laughs. On the sofa, Liam stirs, but doesn’t wake up, and you hastily quieten down.

‘It’s a date?’ you ask, looking up at Theo, making sure he knows you’re serious this time.

‘It’s a date,’ Theo confirms.

Eventually, Scott returns from Kira’s to find you both asleep. Theo’s hand is still on your shoulder, and yours still covers his, even while you’re sleeping. He kneels down and shakes you gently. You start, still on edge after the day’s excitement, but when you see Scott’s smiling face greet you, you instantly relax. Your arm has fallen asleep, and you slide your hand off of Theo’s, careful not to wake him as you get up from the floor and follow Scott out into the kitchen.

‘Something you want to tell me?’ Scott asks, but he’s grinning still, so you know he’s not mad.

‘Funny, I’ve heard that once before today,’ you say coyly, but the smile on your face tells Scott all he needs to know.

‘Hey, it’s okay. I’m happy for you, I really am. I’ll admit, Theo did worry me at the start, but I don’t know what would have happened if he didn’t get that location from Corey today. Especially when I couldn’t.’ Scott looks disheartened, and his smile quickly fades.

‘Scott, listen,’ you begin, ‘you can’t keep beating yourself up about this. I know everyone’s all mixed up at the moment, but we’ll get through this. We always do. Everyone has off days; you were just stressed out because Liam and Hayden were missing.’

‘I know, but if you and Theo hadn’t found them…’ Scott tries to interrupt, but you talk over the top of him before his pity party can get started.

‘Scott.’ You say his name and he stops, looking up at you. It’s almost like he’s really seeing you for the first time, and in your mind’s eye, you can see the expression that you were wearing earlier, your protective face, pointed right at him. ‘It’s not your fault. None of this is. It’s the Dread Doctors, and we’re going to stop them. We’ll come up with something. All of us. Together.’

Scott looks doubtful, but he nods anyway, and changes the subject.

‘Again, I’m really happy for you. And for Theo. He really came through today. You both did.’

‘That’s what I was trying to tell him earlier. But I think it’d be better coming from you, Scott. Just something to think about. Did Kira get off alright?’ You try and shift gears yourself, but at the mention of Kira’s name, Scott’s face drops again and he’s back to his morose self.

‘Yeah, she’s gone.’

‘But she’ll be back,’ you reassure him. ‘Like the rest of us, she’ll sort things out, and then she’ll come back and we’ll all be okay again.’

‘How can you say that with so much confidence?’ Scott wonders, and he really looks sad now. When you take stock of everything that’s happened you realise just how much he and the rest of you seem to be losing to the Dread Doctors. Yeah, you’re all still alive, but the pain and suffering is taking its toll, more so than ever on Scott himself, who, like the good alpha he wants to be, shoulders more than his fair share to protect everyone else.

‘Because I know you, Scott. And I trust you, and I trust our friends. Look at everything we’ve been through over the past few years, and we’ve come out the other side. Yeah, we’ve lost people, and none of us have come through without our fair share of scars, but we’re still here, and we’re together, and we’ve got each other, and that’s what matters most.’

Scott looks up, and for a flicker of a moment, it looks like he believes you, but then he falls back into his depression. The sound of the kitchen door startles you both, and Theo walks in, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He grins sheepishly at you.

‘Scott, your mom’s in the front yard, I just heard her car pull up. You want us to get out of here?’ He asks, and you walk across the room and join him. Your shoulders brush and you automatically twine your fingers with Theo’s. You see Scott’s eyes flick towards your joined hands, and he smiles again at the sight of his friends happy – you’ve seen him smile like that before, at Stiles and Malia, and even Lydia and Parrish when he thought no one was looking. And now at you and Theo. It’s almost like getting your parents’ approval, and it makes you smile too.

‘That’d be nice,’ he replies to Theo. ‘I think I need to talk to her about all this anyway, and about the stuff that’s going on with her and Stiles’ dad. I’ll look after Liam and Hayden, and I’ll see you guys tomorrow?’

You nod, and together you and Theo leave through Scott’s back door. As you walk down the gravel path to the front yard, you see Melissa McCall disappearing into the house. Theo’s werewolf ears weren’t wrong.

‘Well, time to go. I’ll see you in the morning,’ you say to Theo, and kiss him lightly on the cheek as you pick your bike up from the ground. Theo’s arms circle your waist however, and you look back over your shoulder into his smiling, radiant face. The light from the moon behind you illuminates every inch of his face, bringing his gorgeous features into even brighter focus than usual. Not for the first time, you wonder what you’ve done to deserve Theo.

‘You’re not getting away that easily,’ he smirks, and kisses you again – properly. You spin in his arms so that you’re facing him, your bike dropped and forgotten, and find yourself in the most passionate kiss you’ve shared since you met. It’s nothing like the kiss you thought you shared with the phantom Theo; it’s deeper, more meaningful, and overflowing with emotion. Your hands trace the lines of his back under his shirt, the swell of his arms, the stubble on his cheek as they flow across his body. The kiss lasts a lifetime, and yet it’s still not long enough, but it’s a promise of things to come, and a declaration of love that you’d been scared to give him yourself up until now. A shining beacon in this day of horrors and worry, a bright spot in a sea of darkness that’s threatened to engulf you all ever since the Dread Doctors showed up.

And it’s perfect.


	9. The First Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during the events of Teen Wolf 5x09: Lies of Omission

Things have been falling apart for a while now. The Dread Doctors, the chimeras, they’re all a symptom of something bigger, and it looks like all of those symptoms are starting to build into a full blown outbreak. Everyone in the pack, everyone in the entire town is beginning to feel it. Even though you saved Liam and Hayden, things haven’t settled down, and the tension between your friends isn’t going away. The fact that it’s been days and nothing else has happened is just adding to the worry. 

Of course, the butterflies in your stomach at the moment are for a different reason. The downtime between Dread Doctor attacks has meant that, since there aren’t any pressing pack issues to deal with until they make their next move, you and Theo can actually squeeze your pre-arranged date night into your schedules.

It feels a bit strange, trying to snatch a piece of normalcy during all the craziness, but everyone has assured you that it’s perfectly fine. It’s not like you’re on a date with a Dread Doctor, right? In fact, this is the only time anyone from the pack has spoken to you in the past few days, when you’ve sought their approval. You already knew Scott and Lydia were okay with you and Theo, and Liam and Hayden were too wrapped up in their own budding romance to worry too much about yours. Stiles resisted, but seemed to know that you were going to do whatever you wanted to do anyway, so he simply dismissed your worries and told you to get on with it.

Which brings you to tonight, anxiously waiting for Theo to arrive and the night to really begin. He said he had something special planned, and since your ideas were limited to that picnic at Eichen House you jokingly suggested or the clichéd dinner and a movie, you let him plan the evening and decided to just go along with it. 

The doorbell rings, and you take a deep breathe. Moving towards the door, your hand hesitates over the knob, but you steel yourself – why are you worried about spending time with Theo alone when all you’ve wanted for the past few days is just that? You’re over all that worry. You are. Even if your hand seems to disagree with the rest of you. You pull the door open and he’s standing there, resplendent in the moonlight.

He’s opted for smart casual; a black pair of tight jeans (does he own any other types?) and sneakers, but a button up dark blue shirt, with the top few buttons left undone, revealing the line between his pecs. Oh, that’s going to draw your eye a lot tonight. A blazer tops off his ensemble, and his face is clean shaven for the first time in days, with his hair in its usual flawless points. Of course, the best thing he’s wearing is his smile when he sees you.

‘You look…amazing,’ he gasps, and you can feel yourself blushing already. This is a good start for the evening, you think, but return the compliment.

‘I thought you only owned denim, and tight fitting t-shirts,’ you retort. ‘You clean up well Mr. Raeken.’

He looks down with a grin on his face, like he’s not used to compliments. You seem to be giving him a lot of things he doesn’t seem to get often. He holds out his hand and beckons to you, and as you take his hand in yours and he pulls you out of your house, down the driveway, and into his car, you feel all your worries about the problems the pack is having fall away behind you, left behind on your doorstep, at least for one night. Yeah, they’ll be waiting right there when you get back, for a few hours, they’re out of the picture so you can enjoy your time with Theo unencumbered.

‘Where are we going?’ you ask. Theo hasn’t told you anything about what he has planned, so this is all a mystery to you. His trademark mischievous smirk pops onto his face as he starts the car. 

‘We’re going to have that picnic,’ he says, gesturing into the back seat with his head. You turn and see a real life picnic basket, like something out of a cartoon, plopped on the leather upholstery. A midnight blue blanket lies folded up next to it.

‘Not at Eichen House, I hope. I was only kidding!’ you reply, mock worry filling your voice, but Theo just smirks some more and pulls away from the curb. 

‘You’ll find out,’ he answers cryptically. His hand falls to the gear stick and shifts into first, and as he goes to put it back on the wheel, you clasp your own hand over the top of his. He looks down in surprise, but doesn’t pull away, and the pair of you drive in silence out into the Beacon Hills woods, a constant connection between you both the entire way there.

****

Theo parks the car alongside a road you’ve not been on before. Or at least not one you’ve been on at night. Everything in the Beacon Hills woods looks dangerously similar when the sun goes down, and despite the many nights you’ve spent out here, you feel a little worried. This only increases as Theo gets out of the car, grabs the picnic basket and blanket, and heads out into the forest alone.

‘Theo! Where’re you going?’ you call, more panic than you intended edging your voice. You don’t like the idea of him out there alone; or you out here alone either, come to think of it. He looks back over his shoulder to answer you, but doesn’t slow.

‘Give me 10 minutes, and then come find me. I won’t be far, I promise.’ With that, he disappears beyond the tree line, and you’re left alone in his car. The lights on the dashboard begin to fade, and before long, you’re sitting in the darkness. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. 

You spend 10 minutes on edge, waiting for the Dread Doctors or a chimera to appear and tear the car (and you) apart, but you’re undisturbed. As the minutes tick down, you get antsy and get out of the car, pacing around it to keep yourself warm and occupied. Finally, Theo’s time is up and you dart through the treeline in search of him. Every little sound sets your nerves even further on edge, and you wonder what could possibly have possessed Theo into thinking that this was a good idea. If this was his idea of romantic, he was sorely mistaken.

‘Theo? Where are you? This is the complete opposite of what I had in mind for tonight!’ you call.

‘Over here!’ his voice floats back through the trees and a particularly dense hedge. You brace yourself and push through it, not sure what you’ll find, and let out a small gasp as you take in the scene that Theo has set up for you both.

You find yourself on the edge of a small lake; you’re even further out into Beacon Hills woods than you thought if you’ve managed to find a lake. Trees ring the pool, and the clear sky above is dotted with stars, reflected in the water like an enormous mirror. Theo’s standing by the lake edge, the picnic blanket spread out at his feet and covered in an impressive array of food, including, you’re even more surprised to realise, strawberries and cream. Dotted around the blanket are small candles, all aglow. He’s going for the full on fairy tale, by the look of things.

But what really takes the cake are the fireflies. You remember Scott mentioning them, how they came out at certain times of year and that Beacon Hills wasn’t meant to get the glowing kind, and yet here they are, blanketing the scene like fairy lights suspended in mid-air. It completes the scene, that special touch that you’ll always remember, and you wonder if Theo actually planned for them to be here somehow.

‘Well? What’d you think?’ he asks as you join him by the water’s edge. You’re still at a loss for words, your jaw hanging open, and he chuckles a little under his breath.

‘Too much?’ he asks, but you shake your head in a firm no, recovering your ability to speak.

‘Definitely not. This is…I can’t believe this. It’s amazing. It’s beautiful. How did you find this place?’ You press. Your fear at Theo’s disappearance and your anger at his abandoning you by the side of the road are quickly fading from your mind.

‘My little secret,’ he smirks, and takes your hand. He draws you in close and kisses you, just lightly, and then pulls you down onto the blanket. 

‘This is an impressive spread. Did you make all these little sandwiches yourself?’ you tease, popping one into your mouth. It’s delicious, still fresh and soft.

‘I’ll admit, I had a little help from my mom,’ Theo replies, grabbing one for himself. ‘She’s pretty good at this type of thing.’

‘My compliments to the chef,’ you say. Theo leans his back up against a tree, and you position yourself with your head on his leg, lying crossways with him. He grabs a small bunch of grapes, and pops one into your mouth, his fingers brushing your lips with genuine tenderness. 

‘So, I’m doing okay?’ Theo asks, his brow furrowing with the question, but the look on your face soon reassures him that he is.

‘I had no idea what you were planning,’ you tell him, ‘and when you had me wandering around in the woods all alone, I was about an inch away from telling you to shove it and going home, but this was well worth the wait. This is really amazing Theo, I love it.’ His face lights up with a smile, glad that he’s made you happy.

‘I wanted to do something you’d always remember,’ he tells you, ‘And something that’d take your mind off of everything going on right now. We could all use a break, and like you said, if we don’t do this now, who knows when we’ll get to do it?’

As you sit and talk, Theo telling you about his life before Beacon Hills, and you telling him about your adventures with the pack in your own words, rather than Scott’s, you both lose track of time. The food slowly disappears around you, and the moon makes its way across the sky, taking up position in the middle of the clearing of trees, adding its light to the fireflies still darting around you.

You suddenly have the urge to ask Theo something you’ve wanted to ask a werewolf ever since you first realised that they actually existed, and now you’re finally in the position to do so. It seems like an odd time to think about this, but somehow, sitting here in the dark with Theo, only the fireflies and the candles keeping you company, you know that now’s probably as good a time as any.

‘Theo,’ you ask, looking right up at him, ‘I’ve got a crazy thing that I’ve always wanted to ask someone, but it’s always felt wrong with everyone else. Can… I ask you?’ This could make or break the evening, you know, and yet when he indicates that you can, you barrel on regardless, like you want to get the questions out before you stop yourself.

‘It’s kind of personal,’ you warn him, ‘like, werewolf-personal. Is that okay?’

‘No, I don’t pee up trees when I’m out on the full moon,’ he says with a smirk, catching you off-guard.

‘That’s not it, although I’m relieved to hear that,’ you laugh. You push yourself up into a sitting position, your back leaning on Theo’s leg where your head was not a few seconds earlier, and you pull your legs up towards you.

‘When you shift, does it…hurt? It always looks so painful,’ you inquire. You half-shut your eyes, like you’re preparing yourself for a stupid answer or Theo to shout at you, but he looks at you quizzically, one eyebrow raised.

‘You mean you’ve never asked Scott, or Liam about this kind of thing?’

‘Like I said, it’s kind of personal. You don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to, we can just talk about something else.’ You shuffle your feet anxiously, but Theo reaches over and takes your hand. He puts it to his cheek, and his eyes begin to glow yellow as soon as your fingers touch his bare skin.

It’s your first time seeing this process up close and from beginning to end – usually werewolves shift mid-battle, so you miss all the finer details, but Theo’s shift is slow and precise; you realise he’s controlling it very carefully, so that you can see everything that happens and satisfy your curiosity.

The first thing to change is his hair, his sideburns extending down his face. The effect is enhanced by the fact that he shaved before your date, so you can see every new follicle spring into being, dusting the sides of his face, prickling under your hand.

The tops of his ears begin to lengthen, and Theo moves your hand to touch the tip of one as it shifts; it’s hard, like cartilage, and less flexible than a normal ear. Finally, he moves your hand to his brow as the furrows deepen, giving his face a harsher, more animalistic look, a permanent scowl. It’s a rough sensation, a stark contrast to the softness of his cheeks and hands moments before.

The nails on his hand, the one holding yours, lengthen and harden into claws. You use your other hand to lightly touch them, feeling the strength and deadly sharp point at the end. Theo clasps both your hands in his and answers your question, his mouth forming the words carefully around his fangs, his teeth having lengthened inside his mouth to complete the change.

‘No, it doesn’t hurt,’ he tells you, ‘it’s a weird sensation, to say the least, but it’s not painful so much as just…itchy. Curiosity satisfied?’

‘Almost,’ you clarify, and lean forward. ‘There’s something else I’ve always wanted to do.’ Theo realises what you’re trying to do as you lean towards him, and he gently but firmly pushes you back. His hands linger on your chest, and he looks at you with worry in his eyes.

‘Don’t. I don’t want to hurt you.’

‘You won’t. You’d never hurt me. I trust you,’ you breathe, and you realise that you mean it, perhaps moreso than ever before. Theo’s pressure on your chest relents, if reluctantly, and you move in close enough to kiss him. His lips part, and he returns your kiss, careful of his fangs so as not to nick your lips or cut your tongue. You explore the new sensation that a kiss full of fangs brings, and find that it’s not unpleasant. Of course, it’s dangerous, but that just adds to the mystery of it all. 

‘Now I’m satisfied,’ you say, punctuating your sentence with a nod. Theo shifts back to human, and you watch the process in reverse, hair and claws retracting, fangs shrinking back down into normal human teeth. His brow unfurrows, and soon you’re back looking at Theo’s smiling face. The yellow fades from his eyes, and he’s back to his usual self again.

‘Now I’ve got a crazy idea of my own,’ Theo tells you, and wriggles underneath you. You lean forward so that he can get up, and as you do, he pulls off his blazer and hangs it across a branch of the tree he’s been propped up against. You look at him curiously, and he begins to unbutton his shirt.

‘Uh, Theo? What’re you doing?’ you ask him, an inkling already growing in your mind but needing confirmation before you can actually embrace the idea.

Theo turns back to you, his shirt dropping from his shoulders. The moonlight illuminates the definition in his back, showing off every indentation, and as he turns, you can see the muscles shifting under his skin. His hands drop to his belt, and he begins to unbuckle it. His biceps flex as he pulls the buckle free, and as his jeans drop to the wood floor, revealing a pair of boxers as black as the night around you, he kicks off his sneakers and steps towards you, hand outstretched.

‘Swim with me?’ he asks.

‘Are you insane? That lake must be freezing!’ you say to him, but take his hand despite your reluctance. Theo just smirks, and leans in towards you. His hands slide around your back, and in one quick movement, he pulls your shirt up over your head and tosses it in a heap next to his jeans. 

‘I’m sure we can keep each other warm,’ he suggests, and you find your hands have dropped to your own jeans, pulling them off awkwardly, one leg at a time. Theo puts a hand on your back to steady you, and the warmth of his hand surprises you, despite all the times he’s touched you already. Finally, you stand there in your own underwear, your own body nowhere near as impressive as Theo’s, but he looks at you as if you’re a work of art, when he’s the one that looks as if he’s carved from marble. 

‘The first part’s the hardest,’ he tells you, and before you realise what he’s doing, he’s swept your legs out from under you and has you in his arms as if you weigh nothing at all, jogging towards the lake. 

‘Theo don’t you da-‘ you blurt, but he catapults you from his arms and into the lake, which is indeed as cold as it looks, if not colder. You break the surface spluttering, and look around for Theo, intending on giving him a tongue lashing he’ll never forget about throwing people into lakes.

His hand finds its way to your back again, and you spin in the water to find yourself face to face with him. Water clings to his hair, which has begun to droop with the added moisture, and his face is beaming even brighter than the moon above you with happiness. All of your complaints trickle away as you look at his face, the pure joy he seems to be experiencing, and you find yourself smiling too. The chill of the lake fades as you near Theo in the water, his own internal heat suffusing the water, and you wrap your arms around his neck, both of you treading water to stay afloat.

‘Were you going to shout at me?’ Theo asks, a look of faux innocence on his face. 

‘I was,’ you agree, ‘but I changed my mind. I thought I’d just do this instead.’ You lean in to kiss him, and he closes his eyes in anticipation, his lips parting slightly to greet yours. As his eyes close, you quickly take your hands from the back of his neck and shove his head under the water. You know you’d never have managed it if he wasn’t distracted, but taking him by surprise allows you to overcome his werewolf strength, and he re-emerges spitting water.

‘I guess I deserve that,’ he says sheepishly. 

‘And this too,’ you tell him, and this time when you lean in to kiss him, you actually do. You spend an undetermined amount of time in the water with Theo, drifting in the lake, sometimes kissing each other and sometimes just staring into each other’s eyes. You marvel at the way the moonlight shines down on you both, and his arms hold you close as you swirl around the water. He was right – this is something you’ll always remember.

Eventually, Theo moves in for another full-on kiss. You feel yourself giving over to him; his hands are on your back, and yours are clasped up under his arms and in the small of his back. You feel the bottom of the lake under your feet, and you vaguely realise that you’ve floated back to where you started; You can see the blanket that Theo laid out your picnic on out of the corner of your eye. 

Theo pulls you in closer, spinning you in the water and sweeping your legs out from under you, in the same way he initially threw you into the lake to start with. But this time, you feel the water begin to recede and you realise that this time he’s taking you out of the water, not back into it. You’re not worried about him throwing you anywhere, especially not while his lips are on yours, and you’ve got your hands firmly linked behind his back. Out of the water, you truly appreciate the strength of his arms, how he lifts you like you’re made of paper – he may be supernaturally strong, but he’s gentle too, and careful.

He walks up the bank of the lake, and lays you softly on the picnic blanket, now devoid of food. He looks down at you, his arms either side of your body, his face blocking out the moon, but you can feel him smiling down at you. Water rains down from his back in rivulets, and your hand absentmindedly traces the contours of his chest, down his stomach, brushing the waistband of his boxers.

‘Are you ready?’ he asks, and you know without any clarification this time what he’s asking you. Silently you nod, and he disappears momentarily. You hear the rustle of plastic from the bottom of the picnic basket; he was obviously prepared for this, in case you said yes. When he returns, this time there’s no waistband for your fingers to brush against.

****

You lie on the blanket, looking up at the stars. The threads of the material itch your back, but you’re afraid to move, scared you’ll wake Theo, who is asleep to the right of you, and break the perfect atmosphere. He’s sleeping face down, the moonlight reflecting off of his bare backside; he looks content, at peace with the world, and you don’t want to bring him back to reality so quickly. You brush a strand of his hair out of his eyes, and smile to yourself. Tonight truly was unforgettable; Theo really outdid himself.

You lean back and close your eyes again, and Theo fidgets in his sleep, his arm draping across your stomach. His fingers clench, and he seems to subconsciously realise you’re there. He pulls himself closer, and the warmth of him spreads through you as he holds you close. You feel yourself drifting off to sleep again, safe in his embrace. 

It’s the last time you’ll feel safe for a long time.  
 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Personally, my favourite chapter of the ten.


	10. Where Do We Go From Here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during the events of Teen Wolf 5x10: Status Asthmaticus

‘I’m the first chimera.’

You’re marching down towards the library door when you hear those words float out of the open doorway, in Theo’s voice. You flatten yourself against the wall and edge closer, and now you can hear everything he’s saying, and more importantly, who he’s saying them to. Theo has trapped Scott in the library with mountain ash. You try to process this, but it doesn’t seem to compute. Why is Theo doing this?

You’d come in search of Lydia; she hadn’t been answering her phone, and when you spoke to Parrish at the police station, he said that he’d last seen her going to the library. So you’d come yourself to try and find out what the hell was going on and why all your friends were incapable of answering their phones, but instead you’d stumbled onto this...whatever this was.

As Theo talks, you feel a weight on your chest increasing the more you realise just how much you’ve all been played. This must be what Scott’s asthma attacks feel like. All this time, Theo’s been working for the Dread Doctors, been working against you all, slipping in like a snake and weaving his way into all of your hearts and minds to turn you against each other; especially you, you realise. How naïve you’ve been. 

Theo backs out of the library, and you heard a thud as Scott bounces off of the mountain ash barrier, getting flung back across the room by the force of the field. As he leaves, you see the cell phone jammer set up on the bench opposite the door; that explains why no one’s been able to call Scott, or Lydia. Before you can decide if you should flee or not, Theo turns and see you standing flat against the brick wall of the library. His face falls.

‘How much of that did you hear?’ he asks, stepping towards you. You back away, unable to bring yourself to look at him, but he steps in front of you properly and now you can’t draw your eyes away from him. You search his face, taking in every inch of him, trying to discover just how much of him is as you thought it was.

Theo’s black jeans are tucked into his jet black boots, and he has a grey shirt thrown on over a dark purple t-shirt. It’s a look you’ve seen him wear before, but now it all seems to reflect the person he truly is. Even his hair seems to be darker than before now that his true nature has come to light, so to speak. 

You force yourself to look him in the eye, and you can feel your now-familiar fierce expression taking shape on your face. Where Theo used to be protected by that gaze, you now turn the full force of it on him – he’s hurt your friends in more ways than one, and now you’re going to make him pay; not to mention the fact that he’s hurt you, too. But that’s something to deal with later. You file the emotions you’re feeling away to try and solve the problem at hand. Somehow, you need to get past Theo and break the mountain ash circle holding Scott in the library so that he can stop whatever twisted scheme Theo and the Dread Doctors are trying to put into motion.

‘I heard it all, Theo,’ you tell him, your jaw set and your eyes blazing. If your words were fire, Theo would be ash. Unfortunately, your words are just words, and you know he has you physically outmatched, so you’re playing for time, keeping him talking so you can try and figure out what to do next.

‘I wish you hadn’t,’ he replies. He almost looks sad, but then his jaw sets, and his expression changes once again. It’s a far cry from the look that the phantom Theo wore when you saw the Dread Doctors’ hallucination – whereas all of his evil was displayed for all to see, this Theo, (your Theo, your brain adds before you can stop it) his hatred and malice is all internalized. It’s a subtle change from the usual look, the one you thought was so handsome before (and still do, your brain adds once again), but you know that for the first time, you’re looking at Theo’s true face.

‘Why not?’ you shout at him, hoping Scott can hear you from inside the library, so he knows you’re here to help. ‘Did you really think you’d be able to keep me in the dark after this?’

‘No. But I wanted to explain, to talk to you before all this happened, so you’d understand. So you’d consider helping me, coming with me,’ Theo tells you. Even his tone of voice has changed now; whereas before it was calming, now it brokers no argument. You can tell that whatever you say to him isn’t going to stop him, but you still can’t think of a way around him. He’s blocking your entrance into the library, and you know he’ll catch you as soon as you try to run away.

‘You’re sick,’ you spit, ‘sick and twisted if you think I’d ever help you. You’ve betrayed all of us! All this time you were with the Dread Doctors? Right from the start? Was anything you ever said to us real, or have you been lying from the beginning?’

At that, Theo actually looks taken aback. His villainous look drops for a second, replaced by what seems to be genuine shock, but you’re reluctant to believe anything you read on his face or hear from his lips now.

‘I’ve never lied to you,’ he says, ‘Never. Everything I told you about my past, about why I came to Beacon Hills, it’s all true. I wanted a pack; I wanted you all. You’ve gotta be able to see that Scott’s not the right alpha for you. He’s weak, he’s not willing to do what needs to be done.’

‘And you are?’ you throw back at him. ‘Because you’re happy to kill people and betray your friends, and work with psychopaths who kill teenagers? What’d you think, you’d tell me all this and I’d throw myself into your arms, and we’d kiss and make it all better? Well I’ve got news for you, buddy.’

Finally, you make up your mind and dart away from the wall. Instead of trying to escape, or trying to get into the library, you charge directly at Theo – the one move you think he wouldn’t expect. You duck your head, driving your shoulder into his stomach. You feel the wind get knocked out of him, and you both tumble to the floor in a heap of tangled limbs.

Somehow, you beat Theo to your feet, and deliver a swift kick to his ribs as you stand upright. As Theo cries out in pain, (which you scold yourself for feeling bad about) you turn from him and head towards the library – if you can get Scott free, he can stop Theo once and for all. You take three steps towards the library, but Theo’s arm whips out and catches your ankle, and you go down, hard. 

You flip on the ground, but before you can even begin to get to your feet, you find yourself pinned under Theo. His legs are holding yours in place, his knees digging painfully into your thighs and his hands are tight around your wrists. Where once his touch used to send pleasurable tingles through you, now it just makes you feel sick. The scene is a perverse mirror of how you were a few days ago, back by the lake in Beacon Hills woods. That was a night of passion and love, and this is something out of a nightmare.

‘You really shouldn’t have done that. There’s still time. You can still come with me, and we can make this right. All you have to do is let this all play out the way I’ve planned it, and it’ll all be fine,’ Theo tells you. His voice is calm, but you can see him trying to contain his anger – he wasn’t expecting you to attack him. You decide to try a different tactic.

‘You say everything you told me was real. So all this time, getting close to me; was that just all part of the plan? Do you even care about me at all?’ you almost plead with him. You’re trying to keep him off-guard, but you truly want to know the answer to this question. You can feel the tears welling up behind your eyes, but you’re determined not to cry. You promised yourself you’d never cry in front of Theo again, so you can prove to him you were as strong as he thought. Now you just don’t want to give him the satisfaction.

‘I do. I care about you more than you possibly could know. In fact, I think I lo-‘ Theo begins, but you cut across him.

‘Don’t. Don’t you dare say it.’

‘But it’s true. Even if you don’t see it now, I do love you. And I want us to be together.’ Theo’s eyes soften, and he looks down at you with sorrow in his expression, almost pleading with you to say that you love him too. And despite yourself, and all he’s done, you do. But no amount of love will change what he’s done, and you’d never tell him the truth.

‘You know that’s never going to happen. I’ll never forgive you for this,’ you tell him, your every word filled with venom. ‘Never.’

Theo looks downcast, and you find yourself feeling bad for him before you catch yourself and realise what you’re doing. This guy has played you all from the start, and now he’s trying to make you feel sorry for him. Fat chance, you think, but a small part of you thinks back to the last time Theo looked this sad, when you confronted him in the library about fleeing from him at the hospital, and you scold yourself for your weakness.

‘Maybe one day you’ll change your mind. But for now, I can’t let you save Scott. Liam’ll be here soon, and those two have their own issues to work out. So you’re coming with me.’

Before you can reply, Theo releases his grip on your wrists, tenderly takes your face in his hands, as if he’s going to kiss you, but instead he drives his forehead into yours. As the scene dissolves, Theo’s face fills your field of vision. He kisses you on the forehead lightly, right where he hit you only moments before, and then all you can see is black.

*****

‘We can use this one,’ says an electronically distorted voice, bringing you back to the waking world. A gloved hand is around your chin, holding your head up towards a bare lightbulb, and as your eyes come in to focus, you follow the hand down and find yourself looking into the face of the leader of the Dread Doctors; the one with the cane and the red automated monocle. You supress a scream, but your entire body tenses at its touch.

You’re chained to a wall, your arms above your head, the chains taut. Your mouth is unbound, as are your feet, but there’s very little you can do with the limited range of movement you’ve been left with except flail about uselessly. 

Looking out past the Dread Doctor, you see the other two standing a little way back, near some green cylinders full of…you don’t even want to contemplate what they’re full of. There’s an archway in the wall behind them, and you can see a red headed body facing away from you on the floor – Theo must have gotten to Lydia too. Theo himself is standing to your right, his face unreadable.

‘I need them. Both of them,’ he says through gritted teeth. His eyes are fixed on the Dread Doctor, but the Doctor continues to examine you, tilting your head this way and that. ‘What could you possibly need them for?’ Theo asks.

‘Insurance,’ the Doctor replies tersely. It releases your head and turns towards Theo for the first time. Theo himself takes an involuntary step back – you file away this information for later; it seems that even if Theo is working with the Dread Doctors, they don’t value his partnership the way he’d want them to. In fact, he almost looks afraid of them.

‘What, in case your big success isn’t as big or successful as you think? I’ve seen that thing in action – you don’t need this one,’ he says, indicating you. ‘And I can still use them. There’s still time to make them come around.’

Why is Theo defending you? Could he really have meant what he said before, about how he feels about you? What other reason could he want you, the supernaturally deficient member of the pack, left alive and not turned into a hybrid, like the other chimeras?

The Dread Doctor tilts its head and regards Theo. If it has a face under that creepy looking mask, you think it’d be pondering the same things you are. It taps its cane against the floor as it thinks, and you can see Theo tensing up as the seconds tick by. Would he attack them if they didn’t do as he asked?

Finally, the Dread Doctor turns back to you, but Theo darts in front of it, shielding you with his body.

‘No! They’re mine!’ he shouts, but the Doctor looks through him as if he isn’t even there. It considers you once more, then turns and stalks away. The other two Dread Doctors fall into step behind it, and the three of them climb the stairs in the corner to a doorway leading out of the room; at the top, the lead Doctor stops and addresses Theo before the three of them leave.

‘Your time is limited. Make sure you know what you are doing.’ Its electronic voice crackles and vibrates across the room, and by the time its sentence is finished, all three of them are gone. Theo turns back to you, his face apologetic.

‘I’m sorry about this, but I can’t let you interfere with anything else,’ he informs you. You glower at him; if he thinks you’re going to accept his apology for tying you to a wall in the den of the very creatures you’ve been fighting for weeks, he’s sadly mistaken.

‘Why did you stop them? You know I’ll never join you, I’m nothing to you,’ you ask Theo now that you’re alone.

‘But you’re not. Why can’t you understand that? I love you, and I know you love me too, despite everything,’ he tells you matter-of-factly. And despite the smugness, you know he’s right. You’re in love with him – or the person you thought he was. How much of that person actually exists, you’re not sure, but it was far too convincing to have all been an act and you can’t bring yourself to give up on him so completely, not just yet.

‘I’ve seen how you look at them,’ you say to him; maybe you can reach Theo now that he’s had some time to calm down, and the Dread Doctors aren’t around to interfere. ‘They scare you. Hell, they scare me, and I’m not a werewolf or a chimera or anything. You don’t have to listen to them; let me out of here, we’ll go find Scott, and everyone else, and we’ll think up something to stop them. I don’t know what they have on you, but you don’t need to do this Theo. Come back. Come back with me. Come back to me.’ 

You’re pleading now, desperate to appeal to what you think is his better nature. Maybe you can convince him not to do this; maybe you can break whatever hold the Dread Doctors have on him, maybe, maybe, maybe. Your words seem to hit home though, and Theo crosses the room and unlocks the cuffs on your arms. As they drop, he catches you, stopping you from falling forwards. 

Your arms fall behind his back, and you find yourself looking into his eyes again. His face has returned to its original state; the lines have softened, his jaw isn’t set into a grimace, and his eyes, his beautiful green/brown eyes are looking at you like you’re the only person in the world. You’ve done it - Theo is yours again, and everything will be alright.

Leaning in, you kiss him. All your worries and grief from the last few days pour out of you as you kiss him, your hands bury themselves in his hair and the ferocity of your kiss moves Theo across the floor so you’re standing in the centre of the room. Obscurely you remember that Lydia is still here, and that you should probably feel embarrassed, but you’re so relieved that Theo’s come to his senses that you just don’t care anymore. Eventually, you separate, and look Theo in the eyes once again.

‘I thought I’d lost you. C’mon, let’s get out of here and find Scott.’ You smile and take his hand, stepping away from him towards the door the Dread Doctors left through but Theo doesn’t budge.

‘We can’t do that,’ he says, and you turn back towards him with a quizzical look on your face.

‘What’re you talking about, Theo?’

‘Scott’s dead,’ Theo says. He tries to keep his voice steady, like he doesn’t care either way, but you know he’s trying to smother his emotions. But are they sadness at what he’s done, or anger? Regret, even? You release his hand and step away from him, leaving him alone in the middle of the room. 

‘No. No, he can’t be.’ 

‘Scott’s dead, and I killed him. With my own claws.’ Theo flicks out the claws on his right hand to illustrate the point, and now you’re backing away from him even more, turning towards the door and beginning to run, only to catch your foot on Lydia’s prone body and slide across the floor, crashing into one of the green tubes holding the Dread Doctors’ experiments. You’re fighting back tears, tears of disbelief, tears of anger, as Theo crosses the room and scoops you off of the floor, holding you in his arms the same way he held you when he lifted you from the lake.

‘Let go of me! Let go! Murderer!’ you shout in Theo’s face, bashing your fists into his chest, but you know it won’t have any effect. How could you possibly have thought you could reach him? How could you have loved someone capable of killing the kindest person you’ve ever met? What kind of person are you that you didn’t realise what he was doing in the first place?

‘I can’t do that. You’re still part of the pack – my pack now,’ Theo tells you. 

‘We’ll never be yours, none of us. Not after this, no one will ever trust you again. How could you?!’ you scream at Theo, right in his face. He looks hurt, but not for very long. Somehow, you’re not surprised.

Suddenly, an enormous roar echoes around the room, reverberating in the emptiness. It’s a deep, primal sound, and you’ve heard it before. The sound fills you with hope. You know without even having to ask that Theo heard it too, and Lydia stirs on the floor beneath you, looking up at the ceiling in wonder, and whispering one word, the only word you’ve heard her say since you got here.

‘Scott.’

You can tell that everyone who is part of Scott’s pack heard his roar, no matter where in Beacon Hills they were. Somewhere, Liam, Malia, Stiles, and maybe even Kira, wherever she’s gone, heard your alpha, and you know he’s going to be alright.

You’re grinning now, ear to ear, but Theo’s face has twisted in anger.

‘No! You’re mine! You’re all mine!’ he shouts, and drops you to the floor with a thump. He turns towards Lydia, his claws extended, and somehow you know what he’s going to do before he does it.

‘I’ve never done this before, Lydia, and I know it’s dangerous, but it’s a risk we have to take!’ he shouts, and as Lydia cries out in anger, begging him not to do it, you scream at him from across the room yourself. You know you’ll never get to Theo in time to stop him, and once his claws dig into the back of Lydia’s neck and he begins to read her memories, there’s nothing you can do to help her.

‘What’d you think, Lydia? Am I doing it right?’ Theo growls, as he looks up and around the room. He looks right through you, and you know he’s living out Lydia’s memories for himself. Scott described the sensation to you once before, but this is another sick, twisted mirror of something you thought was special, inverted once again thanks to Theo.

‘I see it…’ he says, his voice low, ‘I see it!’ He pulls his claws from Lydia’s neck and she wavers, but doesn’t fall from her knees. Her fingers twitch and her eyes are unfocused; whatever Theo did, he hasn’t done it right, and now Lydia is paying the price for his inexperience. There’s a reason only alphas are meant to venture through other people’s memories, and this is it.

You begin to crawl across the floor towards Lydia, hoping you can help her, as Theo walks past you and reaches up to one of the Dread Doctors’ storage tubes. He puts a strange, syringe-like instrument up to one of the feeder pipes and draws out green liquid into the device, turning back to you both with a sinister grin on his face.

‘If I can’t have the pack I want, I’ll make my own. And you’re both going to help me,’ he snarls.

*****

Theo stomps around the Nemeton, throwing up dirt in his wake as he goes to chimera after chimera, plunging his syringe full of green liquid into their dead bodies. As if this creepy old stump wasn’t bad enough, now one by one, Tracey, Josh, Corey, and even Hayden breathe deep, hacking breaths and pull themselves upright. Somehow, the Dread Doctors’ serum has revived them from death, and now they’re looking around at you all in confusion.

Lydia lies on the ground at your feet where Theo dragged her; she’s barely spoken since Theo pulled his claws out of her neck, and you’re really starting to worry that he’s done some lasting damage, but you’re too terrified of Theo at the moment to lean down and help her. With the Nemeton’s location unlocked in his mind, Theo has brought you both here to watch this macabre reanimation of your friends as he literally builds a pack from the ground up.

The chimeras are still mid-transformation, frozen in the state they were when they died; Tracey’s face is covered in Kanima scales, and the black mercury poisoning blotches on Hayden’s skin haven’t faded either. Poor Corey is still stained with silver-grey stains from his vomiting session at the high school, and Josh’s razor sharp fangs twinkle in the moonlight. Despite their fierce appearance however, they all look disoriented and lost.

‘What’s happening?’ Hayden asks. Her eyes are unfocused, and she doesn’t seem to see you or Lydia in the clearing – she, like the others, is drawn to Theo.

‘Who are you?’ Tracey adds. She’s never seen Theo before, or not while she was alive anyway, so this must be even more of a shock to her than the others. Theo makes sure each of them is looking only at him before he speaks, so he has their undivided attention.

‘I’m your alpha,’ Theo informs them, ‘And all of you? All of you belong to me.’ The way he says it brooks no argument, and he doesn’t even look for their acknowledgement before he turns and begins to stalk away through the trees. Like lost lambs, the four reborn chimeras drift along after him. After all, what else are they going to do?

As he passes by, Theo takes one last look at you. His face is set once again, all hard lines and steely eyes.

‘Last chance. Come with us now, or I can’t protect you from them anymore. Or from what’s coming next,’ he warns, but you stare at him with your fiercest expression, so that the last thing he sees from you is contempt, and the look he so desperately wanted you to protect him with having its full force turned against him.

Theo looks disappointed, but he continues past you without breaking his stride. As Hayden walks past, you go towards her, but Theo growls without even looking back over his shoulder. You can see his ears have lengthened, and his claws have extended, so you’re sure he’s shifted to his werewolf form; he’s warning you away from his pack, even if Hayden was so close to being a part of your own. You back away and drop to the ground next to Lydia, watching the four of them disappear into the night.

Only when Theo and his chimera pack have faded completely from view do you let yourself finally cry. Heaving sobs escape you, wracking your entire body, and you clutch yourself as if they’re causing you physical pain. What hurts the most, more than Theo’s betrayal, and the thought that Scott had died, and what Theo has done to Lydia, is the fact that, despite everything, despite it all, somewhere inside you still care about him, and you know you’ll do everything you can to save him, from the Dread Doctors, from anything; even from himself.

*****

You knock on the door and wait patiently. You’ve come straight from the Nemeton, only having waited for the paramedics to pick up Lydia before heading off. You can answer their questions tomorrow, once you’ve worked out exactly what you’re going to say.

Melissa McCall opens the door, and her face automatically lights up.

‘He’ll be so glad you’re here,’ she tells you, and pushes the door open so that you can enter. ‘Are you alright? What happened?’

‘How is he?’ you ask her as you enter Scott’s house, ignoring her questions. You don’t want to have to tell everyone this stuff more than once, so you want to tell Scott first. Melissa steps back so you can begin to climb the stairs towards Scott’s room.

‘He’s alive. But beyond that, I can’t really tell. But he thinks he’s lost you all, and I think seeing you here will help him more than anything I can say at this point,’ Melissa says, ‘and that’s my medical opinion as well as my motherly one. Go on up.’

You climb the stairs and gently push the door to Scott’s room open. He’s propped up on his bed, staring off into space, but like his mother, his face brightens as you come through the door.

‘What’re you doing here? I thought…’ Scott says, trying to get up but you softly push him back down and sit on the end of the bed.

‘You thought I’d be with Theo?’ you ask, looking disappointed. But in yourself, for giving your friends the impression that you cared more about Theo than you did them, not in Scott for thinking you’d leave his pack for Theo’s.

‘Well, yeah,’ Scott admits. He looks embarrassed that he’s voiced the thought, but you shoot him a reassuring smile.

‘I heard everything at the library, Scott, and more besides. But you and the rest of the guys have been the best friends anyone could ask for, more than that, even. Just because Theo fluttered his eyes at me doesn’t mean that I’d leave you for him,’ you tell him, and you feel in your bones that what you’ve said is true.

Scott looks relieved, then winces in pain, but waves you away as you try to help him.

‘I’ll be fine soon, I just need to heal. Being stabbed takes a lot out of you.’

‘I’ll remember that,’ you tell him. ‘So, what are we going to do now?’

‘I don’t know,’ Scott says. It’s the first time you’ve seen him so unsure of himself. Yeah, he spends a lot of time doubting himself and not knowing what to do next, but even so, that’s nothing compared to this. He genuinely seems completely lost.

‘What about the others? Where are Stiles and Malia? And Liam?’ you question, but as Scott begins to tell you about his argument with Stiles, and his actual physical confrontation with Liam, you begin to wish you hadn’t asked.

‘I’ve lost them. I’ve lost all of them,’ he tells you, but as soon as he says it you shake your head.

‘No, you haven’t. The bonds between us are a hell of a lot stronger than that, and nothing Theo Raeken, or the Dread Doctors, or anybody can do will break them. We’ll get everyone back. You know we will.’

‘My mom said the same thing,’ Scott says, smiling to himself. ‘She said I have to give you all hope.’

‘You already have, Scott.’

You both sit there in silence for a while, contemplating what you’re going to do next. Eventually, you get up and go to leave, so that Scott can get some rest and heal from his wounds. You stop, one hand on the door, and look back at your alpha, the one person you trust more than anyone else in the world, and you ask him the question that you’ve been burning to ask.

‘Scott? Will you promise me something?’

‘Sure. Although my track record with promises isn’t so good right now.’

‘Will you help me save Theo? I know what he did, and god, I know how this makes me sound, but I don’t think he’s completely gone yet. I’ve seen him with the Dread Doctors, and I know there’s more to this than we think there is. Please, will you at least let me try and save him?’

Scott looks at you, a mixture of confusion and…admiration almost, on his face. He thinks it over, and you’re getting ready to just leave without an answer, scared you’ve asked too much; you’ve asked him to save the guy who just killed him – literally killed him, after all. But Scott finally replies, and surprises you both.

‘We’ll do our best. If he can be saved, we’ll save him. I promise. And this time, I’ll keep it,’ he tells you. You nod, and leave him to sleep and recover from his ordeal while you go home and try to bounce back from your own. Whilst your physical wounds are minimal, the emotional ones are going to take a bit more time to categorize and begin to sort through. Theo has put your heart through the wringer, to say the least.

As you’re walking home, you wonder what you’re going to do. It looks like everything has fallen apart, and now it’s up to Scott to put it all back together again. He’ll need his pack if he’s going to stop the Dread Doctors, if he’s going to save Theo and the other chimeras, and god knows what else is coming your way. 

But you know that if anyone can do it, if anyone can unite you all once again and keep you safe, it’ll be Scott McCall.


	11. Something Stupid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during the events of Teen Wolf 5x11 - The Last Chimera

As much as you want to pretend nothing has happened, that the pack is as strong and united as ever, you know there’s no fooling anyone. Theo, with his schemes and his smirks and his angelic façade hiding the devil underneath, has managed to do something that all of the villains that you’ve faced together never managed to do before.

Even Peter Hale, who prided himself in wrapping everyone around his little clawed fingers and setting them against each other, had never been able to break you all apart so utterly, to sow so much distrust and disorder between you all. Bonds you had thought unbreakable have been severed, and you’re not sure where to start trying to repair them – or even if they can be repaired at all. 

Scott and Stiles, inseparable since they were young, are barely talking to each other. Stiles and Malia have drifted further and further apart, each keeping terrible secrets from the other. Kira has disappeared to god-knows-where to try and regain control over her fox spirit. No one’s spoken to Liam since he tried to murder Scott on Theo’s orders. And Lydia, poor Lydia, is comatose in Beacon Hills Hospital, a victim of Theo’s physical assaults as much as his emotional ones.

Which leaves you trapped in the middle, wanting to put everything back the way it was, but unable to speak to anyone without a look of disappointment or disdain on their face. Only Scott understands your frustrations, and only Scott seems to want to get the metaphorical band back together. And of all your friends, only Scott seems able to look past your relationship with Theo to see how much you’re hurting underneath.

Theo’s betrayal may have killed Scott (however briefly) and put all your friends through hell, but there’s a special kind of emotional trauma that a broken heart inflicts that you know without a doubt that none of your friends are feeling right now. They may have been betrayed, beaten, or worse, and you’re not trying to trivialize their pain in the face of yours, but this isn’t something any of them can understand – not that they’d probably want to.

Like the others, you’re grappling with the same questions in the wake of Theo’s betrayal. How much of what Theo said to you was true? Did he mean any of what he said? Was he out to throw you all under the bus right from the beginning? And then, the one question you’re sure that no one else is wondering – did he ever truly love you? You know you never said the words to him, but he said them to you, and you thought you felt the same way before…before it all went to hell and back.

Theo may have answered those questions in the heat of the moment, back when you, he, and Lydia were in the Doctors’ operating theatre, but you know that’s not the end of the story. Theo said it himself, there’s so much you all don’t understand yet. But can you give him the time and the benefit of the doubt to explain himself, after everything he’s done?

And now, everything is up in the air. No one wants to speak to each other. But the Dread Doctors are still out there, and Theo hasn’t gone anywhere either. And now, he has his resurrected chimeras around him too. You haven’t had the heart to tell Liam that Hayden is alive; you wouldn’t even know how to phrase it. ‘Oh, by the way, the girl you love and whose death you’re currently mourning isn’t actually dead. Surprise!’ Yeah, maybe not.

But for all your troubles and all the worries Theo has inflicted on you all, you’re still holding out hope. Scott will bring you all back together. You’re sure he will. Eventually. And in the back of your mind, you’re holding Scott’s promise – that he’ll do everything he can to save Theo; from the Dread Doctors, and from himself.

But no amount of hope could prepare you for everything that happened next.

****

‘When you see Theo, I want to come too,’ you say firmly. You’ve been standing in the corner of the hospital room, listening to Scott, a reluctant Stiles, Melissa McCall and Deputy Parrish discussing Sheriff Stilinski’s rapidly worsening condition. The only way you can all see to save him is by speaking to the person who got him hurt in the first place – surprise surprise, one Theo Raeken.

Scott turns on you, almost having forgotten you were there. You hadn’t said a word while they discussed the Sheriff; you like him as much as everyone else, but you don’t have the same familial bond that the others in the room feel towards him, so once again you feel a little like you’re on the outside, like you don’t belong in the conversation. 

It’s strange, you think, but you’d begun to overcome that fear when you and Theo had grown closer – you’d taken a more active role in the pack, helped save Liam and Hayden from the Dread Doctors…but now that he’s gone, it’s like the rug has been pulled out from under you, and you’re back where you started. 

Scott’s eyes give you his answer before his mouth does. They soften, like he’s telling a child some bad news, as he says ‘I don’t think that’s the best idea. Not yet.’ You know he hasn’t told anyone else about his promise to you, so his true meaning lies unspoken between you. 

‘Yeah, you might slip and end up kissing him again,’ Stiles says, rolling his eyes. Your taste in men has never bothered him before – but he’s hated Theo from the start, and now he sees you as almost as much of a traitor as Theo himself was, having fallen for his charms. But was it charm, or did he…No, now’s not the time for those thoughts.

‘Or maybe you want to report back to him, tell him that your little plan is working? For all I know, maybe you’re the one that attacked my dad!’ 

You flinch away from Stiles, disappointed that someone you cared so much about feels the way he now does about you, that all the trust you had built up over the past few years has been undone so quickly – could he really think you’d hurt the Sheriff? But there’s nothing you can do to change his mind right now, plus he has more on his mind than just your feelings. You hope that he’ll realise you had nothing to do with this once he calms down.

‘Hey, Stiles, that’s uncalled for,’ Melissa begins, her hand on his arm, but Stiles cuts across her, shaking her touch off and whirling on you.

‘Oh really? My dad is dying, and they’re more worried about if they can see their boyfriend again? I’m sorry, are my priorities backwards?’ His eyes fill with hatred, almost as much as when the Nogitsune glared out at you through them. You flinched at his words before, but you physically back away now.

‘Stiles!’ Scott bangs his hands on the table, and Stiles tears his glare away from you. ‘Stop. You’re not thinking straight. I’m sure there’s more to what they’re asking than just seeing Theo again. But we’ll have to put that to one side for now, okay?’ He directs this last statement at you, and you nod silently. ‘Right now, we do need to see Theo, and get him to tell us anything he knows about whatever attacked your dad so we can fix it.’

‘I’m going outside for some…air,’ you say reluctantly. Stiles doesn’t even acknowledge you, but Scott’s face tells you that he’ll speak to you later, when clearer heads are prevailing. 

You push the door of the room open, hearing the remnants of the conversation between the four of them dying away as you walk, then jog, then flat out run from the hospital, out to the parking lot where only a few short weeks before, you spent precious time with Theo and first realised that there was something between you that you’d never felt before; and that he might feel the same way.

You collapse onto the bench between the flower planters where Theo had sat before, your head in your hands and tears running between your fingers. You imagine that you can feel the warmth of Theo’s body emanating from the seat next to you, like some kind of temperature ghost – the memory of Theo here to comfort you when you need him the most. But then you feel terrible for needing the traitorous Theo’s reassurances when he’s the reason you’re in this mess in the first place. 

God, why was this all so complicated? 

Scott was right – there were more important things to worry about right now. But you can’t keep Theo out of your head, and the evidence of what he’s put you all through is everywhere, from Stiles’ attitude to the absence of all of your other friends, the bloodstain on Scott’s shirt he was so desperately trying to hide all throughout your conversation, and both the Sheriff and Lydia now laid up a stone’s throw away in the hospital.

Scott was only half right. It’s not like you don’t realise the gravity of the situation – how the Sheriff’s life is hanging in the balance, and how Theo is your best chance to save him, so your emotions should take the back seat right now. You’d never jeopardise Stiles’ father for the sake of your own heart. 

But despite Scott’s warning, and Stiles’ venomous accusations, you have to speak to Theo. You have to find out exactly what he knows, and how much of what he said to you before was true. And most of all, you have to know if he really loved you, or if it was all just another in a long line of lies.

****

You duck your head down behind Theo’s car. You can see his back, silhouetted in the doorway of Stiles’ house, his black t-shirt clinging tight to him. The cream coloured combat pants he’s wearing fit him in all the right places too. You can’t hear everything he’s saying to Stiles, but you know roughly what the plan was before you fled the meeting at the hospital.

Stiles’ voice raises as Theo turns to leave, and you see the chimera spin around and push Stiles backwards; he hits his head on the staircase and goes down hard. Your heart aches for him, but you know Scott will see to him once Theo leaves. Scott didn’t want Theo to see him, in case they lost the element of surprise.

Theo turns his back to Stiles’ prone form and leaves the house, neglecting to close the door and kicking out at the mountain ash lying across the threshold in his anger. He stalks down the garden path, his car keys in his hand. You see the lights of the car flash as he unlocks the doors, and you ease the passenger door open and slip inside, clicking the door closed behind you as he enters himself.

You think he’d be surprised to see you, but his supernatural hearing must have alerted him to your presence beforehand. He sits in the driver’s seat, staring forward. You mirror him, not wanting to be the first to break the silence. You think back to the anger that flowed through you the previous day, how furious you had felt when Theo had confronted you with the truth, at the library, at the Dread Doctors’ hideaway, at the Nemeton. But now, all you feel is sadness and confusion, and you’re desperate to unravel some of your feelings.

Without looking, he shifts the car into gear and pulls away. You drive through the streets of Beacon Hills without a word, and just when you can’t bear it any longer, you steal a sideways glance. Theo’s mouth quirks up into its usual smirk, and you look away quickly.

“Aren’t you going to say something?” Theo asks, flicking his indicator and pulling to the side of the road. Only now you pay attention do you realise he’s taken you back to the sight of your first proper “date” – out into the Beacon Hills woods, near the small lake where you’d picnicked. Where you’d swam. And where you’d made love under the moonlight surrounded by fireflies. 

The engine cuts out and Theo takes the key from the ignition. You notice that he hasn’t locked the doors – vaguely you realise that even if you ran, if Theo wanted to kill you, he wouldn’t have any problems doing it. “I…don’t know what to say,” you admit. You turn in your seat and look at Theo directly, forcing yourself to. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“Yeah, I guess there’s a lot to talk about.” Theo turns to you, leaning one arm on the steering wheel. His t-shirt is tight around his arms, making them look even larger than before. Where before you would have found this hot, now your attraction is tinged with danger, the thought that all of his power can be used against you as well as to protect or caress as it has before.

“What’s going on, Theo? Why are you doing all this? You say that I don’t understand yet. But I want to. I really, really want to.” You reach out and cover his hand with yours, and he looks down at it like it’s a foreign object, as if he’s surprised you’d want to touch him again so soon. You can feel the tears in your eyes, but you fight them back. There’s no time for that, not yet. And you made a promise – Theo would never see you cry again.

“I’m trying to keep you all safe – whether you can see that or not. There’s something coming, something terrible. And Scott’s not strong enough to protect you.”

“But you are, Theo?”

Theo’s face falls, and you can feel the vulnerability he’s giving off. But can you trust anything you see or hear from Theo anymore? “I’m trying to be,” he whispers. “I know I’ve done some terrible things. Things I wished I didn’t have to do. But I have to. You have to understand that. Please.”

He’s pleading with you now, and you’re not sure whether to laugh or cry. You settle for deflecting.

“I need to know something. Even if you can’t tell me everything yet. I need to know one thing right now, before I get out of this car, or I swear I’ll never speak to you again.” You’re not a fan of ultimatums, but now seems the appropriate time for one. And it makes you feel in control, when lately absolutely nothing seems controllable about anything in your life.

“Name it.”

“Did anything we did together mean anything? Did you ever love me, like you said you did? Or was it all just an act to get me to let my guard down, so that you could work your way into the pack through its weakest link?”

Theo looks surprised at that final comment. “You still think you’re the weak link? That’s…that’s almost funny.”

“It’s not funny, Theo! None of this is funny!” you almost shout, tearing your hand away from his, but he reaches out and turns your cheek toward him so that you can’t avoid his gaze.

“It is. Haven’t you worked it out yet? Your pack doesn’t have a weak link. Especially not you. But even that isn’t enough to stand against what’s coming next. And to answer your other question, I think I already did.”

You look back at him, blinking tears away. You won’t cry. You refuse.

“I’ve been in love with you for a long time. I’ve never been so close to someone before; and I did my best not to hurt you when everything was going wrong. I’m sorry I got angry, if I scared you before, but you have to see that I’m just trying to do what’s best for everyone.”

“By killing Scott?” you splutter. You wanted it to come out angry, but it sounds more like a child asking why its parent had to throw the goldfish down the toilet.

“I need power. To keep everyone safe. I’m not a real werewolf, I’m not strong enough to stop what’s coming. But if I had Scott’s power, I could be.”

“There has to be a better way…” you breathe.

“There might be. But we’re running out of time. The Dread Doctors have made their last chimera; so we need to act fast. Will you help me?”

You’re still not sure what to make of anything Theo has said. His eyes are filled with sadness, and his face doesn’t betray any of his inner-most thoughts. Eventually, you tear your gaze away from his beautiful features and push the door of the car open.

“I’ll have to think about it,” you tell him, and he nods as you get out of the car.

“I can give you a lift back to town, you know,” he offers, but you shake your head. You have other ideas.

“The walk will give me time to clear my head. I’ll be fine. I’ll speak to you again, soon. I promise.”

“Hey,” Theo calls as you go to shut the door. You look up, one eyebrow raised. “I do love you. Even if you don’t believe anything else I’ve said, please believe that.”

You regard him with hooded eyes. “I believe you Theo. And I love you too.” You shut the door, and Theo drives off in the opposite direction.

When you can no longer see Theo’s car ahead of you, you pull your phone out of your pocket and dial a number you know well. It rings a few times, and then Scott answers.

“Hey. I could really use a ride,” you start, and now the tears you’d been holding back throughout your entire conversation with Theo come flooding through. “Scott, I did something stupid.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry. Stupid seems to be the order of the day lately. Just tell me where you are, and I’ll come get you.”

You smile gratefully, even though Scott can’t see you through the phone. The tears are dripping down your face, and you wipe them with your sleeve. Now you have even more things to think about. You’d never betray Scott. Never. But after everything Theo just said, could you work this situation into your favour and save all your friends, and the one you love, all at once?

** Days Later **

Theo’s hand grips yours tightly as you cross the courtyard at Eichen House. Around you, you can see the handiwork of the other members of the pack – your pack. A taser is lying discarded next to an unconscious guard, thanks to Josh. By the front gate, another guard lies paralysed, Tracey’s kanima venom coursing through his veins. The two of you cross quickly, with the others falling in line behind you and Theo, your destination the entrance hall door.

You stop outside, squeezing Theo’s hand for reassurance. You catch his eye and smile.

“Hey.” Theo’s eyebrow quirks. What could be so important that you’d stop now, so close to your goal? “I love you, you know?”

Theo’s smile could light the entire courtyard without the artificial lighting, and he leans in to kiss you, long and deep and without any regard for the rest of his pack, although you can feel their eyes on you both.

“I love you too,” he whispers. “Now, let’s get this done. Before Scott and your friends turn up.”

You reluctantly part and push the door open, Theo, Josh, and Tracey marching in ahead of you. As you enter the foyer yourself, you see Corey appear as if from nowhere by the wall as his camouflage sloughs away. The man at the front desk isn’t paying attention, not even looking up as the door clicks shut behind you. You recognise him as Schrader, one of the orderlies that you instantly took a dislike to the last time you were here. 

You slip to the front of the group once again, sliding your hand back into Theo’s where it belongs. He looks back at you and grins. Everything is going exactly as planned.

‘Visiting hours are way past over,” Schrader says, boredom dripping from every syllable, still not looking up at you all. Theo looks at his pack, at you, and then back at Schrader, immense satisfaction glowing across his face. He smirks his ineffable smirk, and regards the man with amusement. 

“Oh, we’re not here to visit, are we?” he says. Schrader looks up, confusion taking hold as he stares at the five of you. You step up to the desk yourself and give him a winning smile of your own to mirror Theo’s as you tell him: 

‘We’re here for Lydia Martin.’


	12. Reconciliations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during the events of Teen Wolf 5x12: Damnatio Memoriae

Beacon Hills High has taken a beating over the past few years, you think. Ever since the werewolves returned and especially since the Nemeton was re-activated, it’s been smashed, blown up, had its own sign thrown through the ceiling, and the library has been trashed more than once in the past few weeks. The fact that you feel inadvertently guilty for that is probably why you’re here helping out with the library clean-up.

Well, that, and because you want to talk to Liam and Mason; no one else in the pack has spoken to either of them since Liam’s…incident. You don’t want to frame the words ‘attempted murder’ in your head, because you know it’s not his fault. And you don’t want to go back to blaming Theo either. Even if it is technically Theo’s fault. But he had a good reason (to want to kill Scott? Really? Your brain adds, but you stamp the thought down for now) and you’re going to give him the benefit of the doubt until you’ve discovered the true story. Even if you’re the only person willing to do that.

You can see Liam and Mason across the hall. You’re not sure if they’ve seen you, because all their attention seems to be on Corey – of course, no one told them that he was alive again either. The lack of communication in your pack right now is awful. But then, it’s not really a pack if no one talks to each other, is it? But you’re working on that. Scott is trying to convince Stiles to come back around right now, you know, and even if he’s still mad at you, at least he’ll be mad in close proximity for a change.

You see Mason move away down an aisle, a stack of books in his hand as he approaches Corey. You don’t need werewolf hearing to know he’s either flirting, trying to get information, or both at once, and he’s not doing very well by the expression on Liam’s face. You sidle up to the younger beta, moving some books around on the trolley as a pretence to your being there. 

‘Hey Liam,’ you say as nonchalantly as you can. He looks back at you, the annoyance on his face at his eavesdropping being interrupted replaced by sheepishness when he realises who’s interrupting him. He avoids your eyes, his lower lip dropping into his defensive expression that you’ve come to know well.

‘Oh. It’s you. Hey,’ he replies, then turns back to Corey and Mason, trying to keep you at arm’s length.

‘You probably don’t want to hear this,’ you begin, and Liam interrupts to agree.

‘Yeah, you’re right, I don’t. So leave me alone, I’m busy.’ His voice has a steely edge to it now, but you know even with his anger issues that it’s a dull steel. 

‘Okay, fine. I’ll talk, you listen. Be careful. I know what you and Mason are doing, and if you’re not careful, Theo will know too. And you don’t want to be on his radar again, right?’

‘Is that some kind of insider warning? You get those now that you’re sleeping with him?’ Liam replies, and this time the steel in his voice has a razor sharp edge you never knew it could have.

You’re taken aback, so your next sentence is a weak reply. ‘I’m not…we’re not…what gave you that idea?’

‘Oh please, the chemo signals you give off around him are horrible. All lust and love and other mushy stuff. It’s suffocating.’

‘Is that just me? Or does Theo smell that way too?’ you ask before you can stop yourself, but Liam just looks at you with disgust and pushes you aside. 

‘Are you that insecure that you want me to sniff your boyfriend and tell you if he loves you? I don’t care if Scott trusts you, you’re insane. Now leave me alone.’

You resolve to do as he says, but you have something else to say first. ‘Alright, I’m going. But just one more thing – you’re being too hard on yourself. You just need to speak to Scott. He’ll understand, he knows you didn’t really want to hurt him.’

Liam’s angrily furrowed brow softens, and he drops the books he’s holding onto the table so that he can brace himself there instead. His next words are barely a whisper.

‘But I did. I really did. He couldn’t help Hayden, so I would have done whatever it took to save her. Even…even kill him.’ He looks back up at you, and you can see the hurt in his eyes and the turmoil within him threatening to tear him apart. Against your better judgement, you pull him towards you and give him a hug. He tries to resist, but gives up easily, folding into your arms like a child. Which, you realise, he still is.

You forget it all the time; you all do. But Liam isn’t just the youngest member of the pack, or the least experienced with supernatural stuff – he’s just young in general, he’s still a kid. Hayden is his first real love, and that’s enough to screw with anyone’s mind. Throw in Theo, a Supermoon, and all the other crazy crap that’s been going on, and you’d probably be angry all the time too. You squeeze him tighter, thinking maybe you can protect him from the world a little longer, but knowing it’s futile before you even begin. But the meaning is there, and Liam’s hand clings to your jacket tightly.

‘It’s okay. Really. Just speak to Scott. You know he’ll forgive you.’

‘It’s not that easy,’ Liam whispers, pulling away from the hug and wiping his eyes on his sleeve so you can’t see he’s getting emotional, his gaze darting around the library to make sure anyone who wants to comment on you hugging him in the middle of the room don’t get the wrong idea.

‘I think you’ll find it might be easier than you think. Now, I’ll leave you alone. Looks like Mason’s coming back anyway.’ You indicate over Liam’s shoulder, and sure enough, his friend is sauntering back across the room with a huge grin plastered on his face.

You turn to leave, and Liam calls out as you go. ‘I’m sorry, okay? I don’t think you’re insane.’

Smiling, you turn back and incline your head at him. ‘I am a little. But I think we’re all a little insane. Comes with the territory.’

He grins back, and adds one final thought before Mason takes up his attention. ‘For what it’s worth, Theo does smell the same way when you’re around. I think the evil bastard really does love you.’

You keep your face impassive as you walk away, but a grin as big as Mason’s overtakes your face once you’re out of sight of the pair of them.  
****

Your phone flashlight illuminates the grime on the tunnel floors as you trudge through the waterworks once again. Scott’s text messages are still on the home page of the phone, telling you what he and Stiles found – a secret entrance that a massive monster, the last chimera that the Dread Doctors created, used to enter the murder scene you squeezed past on your way down. Now you’re on your way to meet them, and remembering why you hate these tunnels in the first place. At least it seems like Scott and Stiles are talking again, anyway.

This place is disgusting. It’s dank, dark, and a complete maze. It’s no wonder the Dread Doctors seem to like the place, it’s so easy to get lost that their secret hideout could be right next to you and you’d never know. A rat scurries past your foot, making you jump and then be very grateful that no one’s around to see you making a fool of yourself.

A pale purple beam from a black-light appears at the end of the corridor, another in a long line of indistinguishable corridors, and the first sign of light you’ve seen in a while other than your phone. You head towards it cautiously, hoping it’s not one of the Dread Doctors. After your last run-in with them, you’d be happy not to see them ever again – and especially not alone. You wish your friends were here.

You wish Theo was here, too. 

As you reach the corner, you hear familiar voices echoing off of the empty halls. It’s Scott and Stiles! Any longer in this place on your own and you might have gone insane. You round the bend just as the light cuts out and see Scott standing with his phone held out over the floor, like he’s trying to take a picture, and Stiles…. where’s Stiles?

‘Stiles, hold the light still?’ Scott says, not looking behind him as Stiles falls out of the shadows and hits the ground with a thump and a cry. As both you and Scott turn towards the sound, Tracey emerges from the darkness, her Kanima claws extended, the venom she just used to paralyze Stiles oozing from them, and her fangs bared at Scott. 

You dart forward, but Scott and Tracey are both much faster, enhanced by their supernatural abilities. Tracey’s claws whirl through the air, slicing where Scott was not seconds before. Scott’s eyes blaze crimson, and his multiple fangs extend as he uses Tracey’s own momentum against her, throwing her clear across the corridor.

‘Scott, behind you!’ both you and Stiles shout in unison as Josh comes charging down the corridor, lightning crackling from his fingertips and his eyes burning lavender. You never thought purple could be such a threatening colour, but seeing those two pinpricks of light surrounded by electricity and Josh’s own monstrous fangs, makes you rethink your assessment.

Josh’s inexperience works against him however, and again before you can move Scott has ducked an electrically powered punch and grabbed Tracey’s claw as it flies towards his heart. Instead of being impaled, he rams the dripping tips into Josh’s chest and twists, sending the now-paralyzed chimera to the floor next to Stiles. The lightning flashes out from the point of impact between the two, throwing Tracey down the corridor, knocking dust and dirt aside as she slides.

Finally, Scott turns his attention to a patch of wall nearby, a ferocious look on his face as he growls at seemingly nothing. But of course, his werewolf senses can detect things humans like you and Stiles have no hope of sensing, and sure enough, Corey’s camouflage drops and he winces in terror as Scott approaches. You know Scott would never hurt him, but you feel sorry for the guy nonetheless.

‘Okay, enough!’ 

The voice cuts Scott and Corey’s confrontation short, and all of you turn towards the wall Scott was trying to take a picture of before you arrived. There’s a circular entryway into another corridor that you didn’t notice from your previous angle, and standing on the raised dais between the halls is Theo.

You’re not surprised to see his favourite white Chucks and black jeans, topped off with a new powder pink/orange sweater. It’s not a colour you’ve seen on him before, but it suits him, you think. Then you realise that this really isn’t the time to be judging Theo’s fashion choices, and dash forward to stand beside Scott.

His eyes flick across to you, finally noticing you’re there, and you exchange a nod that tells him you’re ready to fight if you have to. Although, if you can avoid fighting Theo (not that you’d stand a chance against him anyway), that’d be great. You can feel your face falling into your now-familiar expression, a defiant look that lets anyone who sees it know that you’ll do whatever it takes to protect your friends.

Even if you have to protect them from each other, you think as your eyes travel to Theo involuntarily again.

‘I guess they’re not ready to take on an alpha,’ Theo notes. ‘Especially one that can smell fear.’ This last comment he directs as Corey, who looks incredulous.

‘He’s got fangs!’ Corey may be a chimera, but he’s yet to show any kind of offensive capabilities, so you take his point. Theo’s not interested, though. As far as he’s concerned, his chimera pack failed. Although, if he thought that three unpractised chimeras could take down Scott, that was a mistake to begin with.

As Tracey and Corey grab the paralyzed Josh from the floor, Theo jumps down, barely acknowledging Stiles. Instead, he stamps hard on the floor beneath his feet, shattering the concrete. It’s not until after Theo leaves you realise exactly what he’s done – destroyed the message that the Dread Doctors have been leaving for the last chimera to find.

‘You’re going to leave here thinking that you need to worry about me, but you’re wrong. We’re actually back on the same side. Because that thing,’ Theo says, indicating above you all towards the murder scene that the last chimera has left in its wake, ‘is what we need to worry about. Your pack, and mine.’ Theo walks past you and Scott as he speaks, his final sentiment lingering between you.

‘Make sure you know where you stand. The stakes are getting higher, and that thing isn’t going to go down easy. You’ve seen what it’s capable of. You might not believe it, but I don’t want you to get hurt.’

Theo’s voice is still raised, still including Scott and Stiles in his speech, but his eyes never leave your face. He’s trying to tell you that he still wants to protect you – despite saying you only had one last chance to join his new pack back at the Nemeton, there’s apparently still time if you want to reconsider.

‘Somehow I don’t believe that, considering you killed me,’ Scott says, his voice neutral, like he’s telling Theo the weather, not that he was a murderer. Liam could definitely learn a few things about restraint from Scott.

Without saying a word, you step back beside him, shielding Stiles from view and showing Theo literally where you stand – with your alpha, with your friends. But somewhere, not as deep down as you’d like to think it would be, is a part of you that wants nothing more than to flee from Scott’s side and grab Theo and never let go. He might want to protect you, but you don’t want to see him get hurt in the process. And from the crime scene upstairs, you know it’s highly unlikely that you’d be able to stop that from happening.

Theo’s smirk appears on his face, and he blinks in disappointment. He turns and walks away, Corey and Tracey hot on his heels, dragging Josh between them. You and Scott watch in silence until they’re out of sight, and the echo of their footsteps has faded into the gloom.

****

You slump down the wall next to Scott and Stiles; you’re all waiting for the Kanima venom Tracey injected into Stiles to wear off, because neither you nor Scott feel like dragging him back out of the tunnels; and you’re still reeling from the confrontation with Theo and his new pack.

Your head whirls as you try to contemplate all of the insinuations Theo made, how he wants to protect you, and that he doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt. You comb back through his every word, trying to see if there is any other hidden meaning, or if he let some information slip without realizing, but there’s nothing. Theo’s far too good at deception to make such a rookie mistake.

“Hey.” Stiles calls. He’s avoiding your eyes, staring directly forward. Scott’s looking at you both, not interfering. This is personal, between you two alone.

‘Hey.’

‘Look, I don’t…I’m not really sure how to…’ Stiles begins, his hands waving like they do when he gets excited or flustered, a consequence of his ADHD. 

‘Stiles, what’s the matter?’ you ask, moving closer to him, but he pulls away as best he can with his legs paralyzed, and finally manages to force his eyes up to look at you. There’s hurt in those eyes, but anger there too, an inner conflict storming inside him. Is he trying to forgive you? Or just think of new ways to criticise you for your relationship with Theo?

‘I don’t know how to put the words in order. I want to forgive you; I guess? I was talking to my dad, and he said that…part of putting what happened with Donovan behind me starts with forgiving myself. And if I can’t do that yet, I can forgive someone else. I already forgave Scott.’ He looks over at his best friend, and Scott’s goofy lopsided grin is infectious. It’s hard to believe sometimes how strong and feral Scott can be when he grins like that; for a moment he’s just a teenager again, not an alpha or a werewolf at all. Just your friend. Like you want Stiles to be again.

‘I want to apologize for what I said at the hospital, that was out of line, and, y’know, my dad was sick and everything was falling apart, but it doesn’t excuse it. I was out of line, and I’m sorry.’

‘It’s okay, Stiles. I can’t even begin to know how you felt, forget it even happened.’

Then Stiles’ eyes go hard, and he speaks with a sterner voice. ‘But I don’t know if I can trust you yet. I thought you were our friend -’

‘I am your friend!’

‘-but I know you…you love Theo too. And someday soon you might have to decide between those two things, and I’m not sure I know which side you’ll choose.’ 

Inside, you feel a chill grip your heart, and you know without thinking – Stiles is right. You say that you’re with Scott and your friends, and you’ve shown Theo as much. But when push comes to shove, you’re really not sure where your heart will take you – will it stick with your pack, with your friends, or are you willing to risk it all and stand with Theo, despite everything he’s done? Can you trust your heart to make the right choice? Or can you find a way to make all these crazy situations work together so everyone wins? 

But, you realise, Stiles isn’t quite finished. He’s still looking at you, his eyes unable to break contact now that he’s managed to get himself to look, and you find that you can’t look away either. You feel like you can almost see his emotions battling with each other behind his brown eyes, his fear of betrayal and his faith in you fighting for dominance.

Eventually, he seems to make a decision. 

‘So…we’re good,’ he says finally. ‘For now. But I’m just going to keep my eye on you. In, y’know, a friendly way.’ Stiles’ tone lightens as he finishes, and you finally allow your face to grin, the same way Scott and now Stiles are grinning too.

In a way, you’re glad Stiles is going to be keeping an eye on you; you think you’re going to need someone to talk to about how you’re feeling sometime soon, and you’re glad Stiles now falls into your available options. Plus, this means the pack is coming back together, and this is a major tick in the win column.

‘And now that’s settled,’ Scott says, breaking the awkward silence as you all grin at each other, ‘that puts us back up to a three-person pack. It’s a start. But…’

He leans forward and draws a small circle with his fingers in the sand at your feet. He looks up, from Stiles to you and back again, making sure you’re paying attention.

‘We need help. If Theo’s got his own pack, then we need ours. We have to get the others back,’ he insists.

‘The others?’ Stiles says mock-quizzically. ‘You mean Kira, who’s battling a homicidal fox spirit inside of her, Malia, who isn’t even speaking to any of us, Lydia, who’s stuck in Eichen House, and Liam who almost killed you?’

Concise and accurate, if a little crass, you think.

‘Also known as our best friends,’ Scott finishes for him. That’s a better description.

His expression says what you’re all thinking – you may be on the outs now, but you’ve all been through too much together to let Theo and the Dread Doctors break you apart for good. If you can talk to everyone, you know that between the three of you, you can get the entire pack back together.

‘Okay, how?’ Stiles asks, rolling his eyes at himself for agreeing to Scott’s newest crazy plan.

‘One by one.’

Scott looks down at his small circle and then flicks his eyes back up at you and Stiles.

‘You’re not seriously going to make us do it?’ 

‘You’re part of the pack,’ Scott tells you both. And it’s true, you are. You’re friends, but it’s deeper than that – you’ve felt it for a long time. It’s a bond like family, but somehow even stronger than that – a bond you chose to form with these people, your friends. 

What’s that saying? You can’t choose your family, but you can choose your pack? Or something like that. 

And you’re going to get your pack back because of that bond – it can withstand anything. And all you need to do is help your friends see what you’ve seen yourself.

Stiles finally relents. ‘Yeah, okay.’ He looks back at you and you shuffle forward across the sand. 

‘Together?’ he asks, holding his two fingers up.

‘Together.’

And together, you both draw half a circle, meeting at the edges, forming one larger circle around Scott’s smaller one. The symbol of Scott’s pack. A pack that, like the symbol on the floor, is remaking itself, ever-so-slowly.

You smile and grab Stiles under the arm. ‘C’mon, I’ve had enough of these tunnels. Let’s get out of here.’

Scott moves to Stiles’ other side and grabs him under the other arm so that the two of you can pull him to his feet. Slowly, with Stiles suspended between you and Scott, the three of you begin to make your way back towards the surface.

‘We need to find Kira,’ Scott says, and Stiles nods. It makes sense that Scott would want to find his girlfriend first, you reason. But then he looks back at you.

‘And I think I have an idea about you,’ he says cryptically, but as you slowly make your way back up into the light, he refuses to tell you more until you’re safe again.

What could Scott possibly think you could do that he couldn’t?


	13. Moonlight Rendezvous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during the events of Teen Wolf 5x13: Codominance

‘You know Liam’s inside, right?’

Scott grins and taps an ear knowingly. Of course; werewolf hearing. Duh. 

‘So, are you going to talk to him, or not?’ Scott avoids your eyes and sighs deeply. 

‘I will. And I know pretty much what he’s going to say. But how do you say ‘It’s okay you tried to kill me’ like you mean it?’ he asks. You give him your best ‘search me’ face, and shrug your shoulders. You wonder sometimes what you used to think about back when the pack wasn’t the most important thing in your life – homework and stuff, maybe? Now it’s ‘It’s okay you tried to kill me’. Life is weird.

Scott finishes putting the rest of Stiles’ water bottles into the back of Roscoe. The poor jeep is almost a visual representation of the pack, you think. It was knocked over, blown up, set on fire, and yet now it’s been repaired (and with more than just duct tape for a change!), and it’s ready to tackle the next challenge. Scott and  
Stiles are off to track down Kira, thanks to some tips from Mr. Yukimura about where she and her mom might have gone. 

But you’re staying here.

‘Are you sure you don’t want me to come?’ you ask once again, but Scott shakes his head.

‘No, this is something I have to do. And its Stiles’ jeep, so he has to come, I guess.’ That makes you laugh – Scott’s trying to hide it, but he’s just glad to have his best friend back. Besides, some time alone together would do them good. But being left behind makes you feel like Scott doesn’t trust you, the same way you expect Liam is feeling right now too.

‘If this is about Theo-’ you begin, but Scott reaches out and clasps your shoulder. 

‘It’s not. I know Stiles is worried, but I’m not. I know you, and I know you’ll do what you think is right. You don’t often make bad choices. Besides, I need to leave someone I can trust to keep an eye on Theo while we’re gone. And you can maybe think about what we talked about?’ 

Once you got out of the Dread Doctors’ underground hideaway, Scott finally told you what he wanted you to do. He hadn’t demanded it, he never would. And he wouldn’t have to – you’d do anything for Scott, for anyone in the pack, the same way everyone would for you. Or at least they would have, before recent events. But even so, Scott’s request is worrying you. You’re not sure if you can pull it off. Or if you want to.

‘I’ll…try, Scott. I can’t promise anything, but I’ll do my best.’

‘I know,’ Scott says, giving you a small smile. ‘And, keep an eye on Liam too?’

‘Only if you talk to him before you go. I talked to him myself yesterday – he’s really sorry Scott. I know ‘sorry’ doesn’t cover it, but look at the poor kid. He’s tearing himself up inside. I don’t think you realise how much he looks up to you. You’re like his big brother. Or his…wolf dad,’ you finish awkwardly.

‘Wolf dad?’ Scott’s face tries to laugh and look terrified at the same time, and that makes you laugh too.

‘You know what I mean! Anyway. Talk to Liam. And take this, too. I found it in the library this morning, thought I’d give you guys some light reading while you’re on the road.’

You hand him a thick library book with some obscure Latin title you weren’t able to translate. After Stiles explained the message Theo had tried to hide from you all back in the tunnels – Damnatio Memoriae – you thought you’d try and do something helpful before they left, so you spent the morning in the library combing through whatever Latin books hadn’t been blown up or misfiled. You’re not sure which is worse for a library book.

The result was this extremely boring looking book, but from your quick flicking through it, it seemed to have lots of information on Damnatio Memoriae, and it was a long drive to Ship Rock, where Scott hoped to find Kira, so maybe they’d have time to find the important bits along the way.

‘Light reading. Right. Thanks?’

‘I hope it helps. Any information is better than what we have now, right?’ 

Scott raises his eyebrows. ‘Yeah, you’re not wrong. Okay, I gotta go get my backpack, and then Stiles and I should get going. You ready, Stiles?’ 

A clanking noise, a crash, and a flurry of swear words escapes from underneath Roscoe’s bonnet followed by Stiles’ head appearing out from underneath the jeep itself. You’re not surprised to see duct tape in his hand, but an actual wrench in his other makes you laugh. He’s obviously upgraded his efforts to keep the jeep running after the beating it’s taken recently.  
‘Yeah…nearly? Uh, give me a few minutes. There are some pieces under here that I’m sure are meant to go somewhere, but they don’t want to fit.’  
Scott looks at him quizzically, but doesn’t say anything else. As he walks past you to get back to the house, he whispers ‘If we aren’t back by tomorrow, call Stiles’ dad.’ He looks back over his shoulder at Stiles, who has disappeared under the jeep again. ‘And a mechanic.’

You chuckle silently as Scott disappears back into his house. You turn to leave yourself when Stiles rolls back out from under Roscoe and calls you back.

‘Hey, pass me the hammer? I think I can make these parts fit with a little…persuasion.’

Feeling sorry for Roscoe (it looks like repairs are almost as painful as getting beat up in the first place, at least with Stiles involved), you hand Stiles the hammer handle first. He takes it from you and then turns serious.

‘Hey, be careful, okay? I know what Scott asked you to do, and I know it’s dangerous. You may think Theo’s the best thing since…’

‘Duct tape?’ you finish for him, and he smiles.

‘Yeah, that’ll do. But still, I definitely don’t trust him. So be careful. And call Liam and Malia if you need to. Even if Malia’s still not talking to us,’ he finishes lamely.

‘I’ll be fine, Stiles. I know what I’m doing,’ you reassure him. ‘You guys just go get Kira and I’ll handle Theo.’ Hopefully you sound more confident than you feel.

‘That’s what I’m afraid of,’ Stiles says sarcastically and rolls back under Roscoe as you throw an oil-soaked rag at his rapidly retreating head.

****

_Can I see you?_ Your finger hovers over the Send button on your phone. You’ve been debating whether to contact Theo or not. You know what Scott wants you to do. And there’s a not-so-small part of you that wants to see him too. But you’re scared. And wary. Theo’s a masterful liar; can you possibly lie to him without him realising? And isn’t that a massive betrayal?

Then you remember what Theo did to Scott, to all of you. You’re not one for the whole ‘eye for an eye’ idea, but a little payback couldn’t hurt. You realise you’ve been biting your lip when you taste blood in your mouth. The short, sharp pain shocks you back to yourself, and makes up your mind for you. You hit the button, and the text pings out into the ether.

Seconds later, your phone vibrates in your hand.

_Is everything alright?_

_Yeah, I just really want to talk to you. This is all one big mess, and you scared me yesterday._

_I’m sorry. You know I would never hurt you. Does Scott know you want to see me?_ Subtle, Theo. Real subtle.

 _No. He and Stiles are going to find Kira, so we can meet without him finding out._ Lying by text is easy, you think. In person is going to be so much harder.

_Alright. Tonight, at the school. 8?_

_I’ll be there. Thank you, Theo._

_I love you._

_I love you too._

You slide your phone into your pocket, and wring your hands. Well, here goes nothing. Looks like you’re going to be a double agent after all.

****

Being at school at night was fast becoming a habit for you; as if during the day wasn’t enough. But if this was your way of seeing Theo, then sacrifices had to be made. You chain your bike up and sit on the front steps, waiting for him to show up.

The night is still and quiet; it reminds you of the last time you were here at night, waiting for the Dread Doctors to turn up and kidnap Liam and Hayden. The memory sends an involuntary shiver through you when you remember the phantom Theo they conjured to torment you, and you pull your jacket closer in response. The longer you sit, the more you realise this is such a bad idea.

Scott has asked you to try and get some insider information on Theo’s plans; he knows you two are close, and maybe Theo will tell you something, either on purpose or by accident, that Scott and the others haven’t worked out for themselves. You all know Theo has been with the Dread Doctors for a while, so maybe he can tell you all about the last chimera, or what he himself is planning.

But of course, that could mean trying to deceive Theo, pretending to get closer to him so that he lets his guard down. Do you have that kind of deception in you? 

Then you realise that maybe it doesn’t have to be a deception at all. You have feelings for Theo, you’re beginning to admit to yourself that you do in fact love him, despite all of his mistakes (calling killing Scott a mistake is a stretch, but you slap your subconscious into submission and roll with the thought), so maybe you can just lean into what comes naturally and see what happens.

The night being still helps your normal human ears detect Theo’s arrival before you see him. A small thump echoes across the open yard and seconds later you see Theo round the corner of the school, hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face.

He’s opted for a dark brown shirt, left unbuttoned over a grey t-shirt, and blue jeans. The shirt almost matches his hair, and when the moonlight shines through the clouds, illuminating his face, the quirk of his mouth as he smirks at you makes you glad you’re sitting down, since it makes your knees weak. 

Yeah, maybe this is going to be easier than you thought. 

He stops at the bottom of the steps, and you stand up. Standing here, you’re taller than he is, and he has to look up to see your face. His eyes are focused on you, nowhere else, and his smirk transforms into the smile he always saves for you; a smile you haven’t seen for what feels like forever. 

‘Hi.’

‘That’s not how I want to say hello,’ he tells you. His hands drop out of his pockets and reach forward for your own. His touch is warm and gentle, his fingertips brushing lightly along your palms as he draws you towards him. You lean down and your lips meet, and for that brief moment, all is forgiven between you. You reach forward and tangle your hands in his shirt, roughly pulling him closer as you kiss. Your eyes close, and you feel his hands on your back, closing the rest of the distance between you until you’re flat against each other, moving with the rhythm of the kiss.

‘Seriously? I thought we were here to track that thing, or to find that blind alpha.’

Your eyes snap open and you see Tracey standing behind Theo, her arms crossed and an unimpressed expression on her face. Theo’s eyes go cold as he turns back to her. Blind alpha? The thought brings back horrible memories – you think you know who she means. You file the information away for later, because thinking about what Theo could possibly want with… **him** will just distract you. You try to remain impassive so Theo doesn’t know you recognise what Tracey said, but he’s not even looking at you.

‘Get out of here. Go check the school, we’ll be right behind you.’

‘We?’ Tracey asks, but Theo’s glare deepens and she backs away, slinking off into the night, her dancer’s body lending her stealth and poise even in the simplest movements. If she couldn’t move silently before, her new Kanima abilities help her make no sound at all.

Theo turns back to you and leans in close. ‘Sorry about that. Shall we pick up where we left off?’ But the moment’s gone, and you place your hand on his chest,  
feeling the thump of his heartbeat beneath the marble of his skin and the heat suffusing through your fingertips.

‘Maybe later.’ Theo looks downcast, but he doesn’t push. He slips behind you and sits on the steps next to where you were before, so you slide down next to him. You lean back on your hands, and Theo puts his on top of the one nearest him. Now that you’re close, neither of you wants to stop touching the other.

‘I’ve missed you, you know,’ he says, and his every word seems to agree with him. There’s almost an ache to the breathy way he says it, and you feel the same way with every fibre of your being.

‘I know what you mean,’ you whisper back. He’s looking at you like you’re the only person in the world who matters, like his pack, the Dread Doctors, the last chimera, everything is secondary to you, and you feel yourself smiling back at him at the thought of being so important to someone. Especially someone as amazing as Theo.

Then you remember all the things he’s done recently, and it brings you crashing back to reality. You force yourself to look away, a small smile still playing at your lips.

‘So, you wanted to see me?’ he asks, and you stare out into the night as you tell him why you called him.

‘I’m scared, Theo. I’m so scared, almost all the time.’ No lies so far, a good start.

‘Except when I’m with you. Then, everything feels alright.’ Okay, a small lie. You feel safe around your friends, too. 

‘It’s like you said before; I don’t think Scott’s going to be able to get us through this. Not this time.’ And there’s a huge lie to top it all off. But the expression on Theo’s face tells you that you sold it – he believes you.

‘And what do you want me to do?’ Theo asks. ‘I’ve asked you before if you wanted to come with me; Scott’s not the only alpha in town anymore.’ 

‘I didn’t think you were an alpha?’ you ask him, and a mask of annoyance crosses his face, but he hides it quickly.

‘You’re right, I’m not.’ He flashes his yellow eyes at you, confirming what you thought. He may be leading the chimera pack, but he’s not an alpha. Not yet, anyway. ‘But I’m still a better alternative than Scott. I’ve got a plan. I can stop what’s coming. I know I can. But it’s going to take some…unpleasantness to get there.’

‘How much worse can it get?’ You’re scared to know the answer to that one, but you need to find out exactly what Theo knows. ‘What was that thing that the Dread Doctors made, the last chimera?’

Theo raises an eyebrow. Whoops, too many questions. You backpedal quickly.

‘I just thought that if I knew what we were up against, I could, I dunno, do some research, find out how to stop it? I want to help. I can’t fight as well as you guys, but I can think.’ A bad save, but better than nothing. But Theo still doesn’t answer your question.

‘If Tracey and I are right, I’ll be able to show you soon enough,’ he replies cryptically instead.

‘What does that mean?’ Theo again doesn’t answer your question, but stands up and takes your hand, pulling you gently to your feet. As you rise, the most unearthly sound you’ve ever heard echoes into the night. It’s a guttural roar, from something monstrous and primal. It’s like a dinosaur, crossed with a demon, screaming in pain. In short, it’s the most horrible thing you’ve ever heard. And it’s coming from inside the school.

‘Follow me, and you’ll see.’ He turns around and, still holding your hand, pushes the door to the school open, creeping slowly inside. Reluctantly you follow, wishing you had supernatural powers of your own, not for the first time. Or a bazooka. A bazooka would be good. 

The door shuts with a quiet click behind you, and you see Tracey at the end of the hall. She motions to you both, and you follow Theo silently, your sneakers thankfully not making a sound for a change. As you approach, you see Tracey has flicked out her Kanima claws, and she’s doing her best to avoid looking at you. Obviously not all of Theo’s pack are as happy with him as you thought.

‘Theo, look,’ she whispers, pointing at a bank of lockers. You can’t see anything, but Theo’s eyes flash yellow, and he obviously can.

‘It’s the same message, isn’t it? What are they trying to tell it?’ Tracey asks. It must be another ‘Damnatio Memoriae’, like down in the tunnels. You’re curious about the same thing.

‘They’re trying to get it to remember who it was,’ Theo replies. 

‘But isn’t it just a teenager like us? Isn’t it just a kid underneath?’

‘They don’t care about that. The Doctors, they needed a body because they couldn’t resurrect the Beast out of thin air.’ The way Theo says ‘Beast’, you think it’s a title, not just an observation. You tighten your grip on his hand, and he squeezes back without looking at you. He has to maintain a strong front with Tracey around, you guess.

‘The kid underneath, whoever it is, is just a side-effect. All the Doctors care about is the Beast.’

‘So what happens when it does remember?’ You’re glad Tracey’s asking all these questions; you can listen without having to ask them yourself, since it was clear from your earlier conversation that you weren’t very good at finding out information without being obvious about what you were doing.

‘I’m not sure.’ Theo lets go of your hand and paces down the corridor past Tracey. ‘The thing probably doesn’t even know it turns back to human during the day.’ Now there’s a scary thought.

‘I read that the Beast of Gevaudan killed a hundred and thirteen people. Is that true?’ Tracey says. Someone’s been doing their homework too, it seems. And now you have a name for this mysterious monster you’re all facing. So tonight wasn’t a complete waste. Although, you were quite happy with coming out into the dark if it meant kissing Theo once again, so maybe the information is just a bonus.

Theo smirks at Tracey before he replies. ‘No.’ You see the relief on her face, and there’s probably no small amount on yours either. But then Theo continues, ‘The Doctors told me it was closer to five hundred,’ and your heart sinks into your stomach. What the hell is this thing?

Before you can ask anything yourself, you hear a scraping noise from around the corner. The three of you creep towards the sound, Tracey in the lead, claws at the ready, with you and Theo slightly behind. The lights in the hallway go out ominously. Tracey moves forward, but they flicker back on, and two of the three Dread Doctors materialize out of nowhere, blocking her path.

She swings instinctively at the closest one, but you know it’s a waste of time. The Doctors’ head snaps back, but it lashes out with cruel precision, slamming Tracey against the lockers on the opposite side of the hall. Theo steps forward, and you drop to Tracey’s side, to see if she’s alright. Even if she could technically be called your enemy, you don’t want her to get hurt; she seems dazed, but okay. You both stay down, and the head Doctor, the one with the red monocle and the cane moves in front of Theo to confront him. It’s electronic voice, which seems to come from everywhere and nowhere at once, crackles through the air.

‘Leave.’

‘Where is it?’ Theo asks, ignoring the Doctor’s demand, and it ignores his question right back.

‘You already have your pack.’

‘It wasn’t enough,’ Theo replies. It’s somewhere between a plea and a petulant child complaining that it didn’t get enough toys at Christmas, and has the same effect on the Doctor – no reaction whatsoever. 

‘Look at my eyes. Do they look red to you?’ Theo’s eyes flash yellow, illustrating his point, but the Doctors remain as impassive as ever. ‘I’m not an alpha. I’m not even a real werewolf!’ Theo is getting more agitated now, and you think he’s going to strike the Doctor, but before he does, a throaty growl resonates down the hall. 

From behind the Dread Doctors, you hear thumping sounds, and something huge stalks around the end of the hallway. It turns towards you, and it’s all you can do not to leave Tracey and Theo and run as far away as you can. In the back of your mind, you really wish you had that bazooka right about now. 

It is almost ten feet tall, a vaguely human shape with a wolf’s animalistic ears and face. But it’s mouth is something worse, some kind of weird merger between human and wolf, stuffed full of fangs and stuck in a permanent snarl. Its eyes blaze out of the darkness like two blue headlamps turned on full blast, and its shoulders are as wide as you are tall. In one enormous clawed hand is a severed head, its face unrecognisably twisted into an expression of pure terror.

Its body seems to leak shadows, giving it the impression that it has no solid form, but you’re sure if it caught you, you’d know about it. Its huge feet slam into the floor as it makes its way down the hall, and you feel Tracey tensing against you. One look at Theo and you can see his usually strong front cracking; he’s just as frightened as the rest of you.

This is the Doctors’ success, their finest creation. This is what Tracey called the Beast of Gevaudan, and it is the most terrifying thing you’ve ever seen.  
It stops behind the two Dread Doctors and regards you all with a sinister stare. Then it opens its mouth and roars, the same inhuman sound you heard outside, now amplified by your proximity. The sound tears through your head, making you wince and ram your hands over your ears. To your right, Theo does the same thing, his supernaturally enhanced hearing making the pain even worse as he doubles over. Tracey is similarly trying to block the sound out, her Kanima claws retracted and her fingers jammed into her ears.

Then, as quickly as the Doctors appeared, both they and the Beast are gone. You all look down the corridor, but there’s no sign of them. It’s as if they were never here at all. But you know that the sight of the Beast will haunt you forever.

Tracey scrambles to her feet and bolts. Theo calls her, but she’s already gone, and you can hardly blame her. You want to do the same thing, but instead, you do the next best one and run to Theo, folding yourself into his arms, both for protection and for reassurance.

‘What the hell was that?!’ you ask tersely. You feel like the more you speak, the more chance the Beast has of hearing you and coming back.

‘Hey, it’s okay, it’s gone,’ Theo tries to reassure you, stroking your hair with his hand and cupping the back of your neck. As always, his touch is warm, but after seeing the Beast, you feel like you’re never going to be warm again.

‘It’s called the Beast of Gevaudan. It’s…let’s just say it’s probably the worst thing to ever come to Beacon Hills. But don’t worry, I’m going to take care of it. I hope. But I can’t do it alone.’

‘Will you help me?’ he asks, and you scrunch your eyes shut. This is it. Time to commit. You nod silently, feeling his t-shirt riding up with the movement. His strong arms encircle you, but even that isn’t enough to make you feel better. 

‘Of course,’ you whisper. ‘It’s a…a monster. I was right, what I said earlier. Even Scott can’t stop something like that.’

And this time when you say it, it’s not quite as big of a lie as you thought.

****

Your day has come full circle, and you find yourself back at Scott’s house, this time in the living room. Scott is asleep on the sofa, and you almost don’t want to wake him. Once you tell him what you saw, he might never sleep again (you know you won’t), and he looks so peaceful. After rescuing Kira today, you think he deserves a win, but this can’t wait.

Kira kneels down next to him and gently shakes him awake accompanied by a whisper of his name. His eyes open slowly, and he breathes in deep, one hand outstretched to where Kira’s lies on his arm. Then he realises that you’re there, and his brow furrows as he sits up.

‘What’s wrong?’ he asks, and Mason and Liam, who are standing next to you, both look sheepish. 

‘I found out something from Corey,’ Mason says, almost tripping over his words in his rush to tell Scott his important information. ‘We know what Theo’s doing.’

‘He’s looking for an alpha,’ Liam adds. ‘A blind alpha.’ Looks like Tracey isn’t the only blabbermouth in Theo’s pack, you think.

Scott looks up and sees you for the first time, and you share the same expression of worry and shock.

‘It’s true,’ you add. ‘Tracey said the same thing when I saw her with Theo. You know who they mean, Scott.’

He does. His face is troubled, and he can’t look at any of you when he airs the thought in a voice tinged with surprise.

‘Deucalion.’

And, you think to yourself, if Scott thinks Deucalion is the most important thing to worry about, he’s going to hate what you have to tell him next.


	14. Suicide Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during the events of Teen Wolf 5x14: The Sword and the Spirit

The elevator pings, signalling your arrival on the right floor. You’re at the back of the elevator car, with Stiles, Scott, and Kira ahead of you. Since you’re out of sight, you take a deep breath, preparing yourself for what you’re about to see. Stiles’ dad called, letting you know that there had been a large number of bodies discovered, and you’re not sure how that’s going to make you feel.

The sight of the Beast last night is still affecting you. You barely slept, spending the night at Scott’s house on his sofa because you didn’t want to go home alone; every time you closed your eyes, that enormous monster filled your dreams, hunting you and your friends through Beacon Hills woods until it tore you apart atop the Nemeton. You were always the last to go, so you got to see your entire pack, your closest friends, and even Theo broken and bloody at the feet of the Beast before it finished you off. The idea of seeing more death when it’s already so fresh in your mind isn’t very appealing.

The doors slide open, and the four of you slip out. A seemingly never-ending procession of gurneys is being wheeled down the corridor, past the Sheriff who is right in front of you, and down towards the medical examination wing to determine exactly how they died. Horribly and in excruciating pain is your best guess. Stiles engages his dad in conversation, but the sight of the body bags makes you panic. You clutch the wall for support, breathing deeply.

You tap Kira on the shoulder, and she looks concerned straight away.

‘Are you okay? You look a little green,’ she says, and you nod weakly.

‘It’s nothing, I’m fine. Just didn’t sleep well is all. I’m going to go find some water, I didn’t want to slip away without telling someone where I’m going. Let me know if there’s anything important?’ you ask her, and she agrees, running her hand down your arm as a comforting gesture before you depart.

You wander through the halls, trying to remember where the nearest water fountain is, taking turns randomly, trying to get away from the smell of death and the endless parade of body bags being wheeled down the central corridor. Finally, you find a vending machine next to a water cooler, little plastic cups stacked to one side of it. You slam some quarters into the coin slot on the machine, collect a glass of water from the cooler and collapse onto a nearby seat to eat the candy bar that falls out of the machine in peace.

You’re halfway through, taking it slowly and sucking the chocolate into oblivion instead of chomping it down like you usually would, using the time to get your head on straight and feel the sugar of the chocolate revitalizing you, even if momentarily. You can’t afford to be weak now; not one, but two packs could need you, and there’s no way you’re going to let them down. You have to pull yourself together – for Scott, for your friends. For Theo.

Someone slides into the seat next to you, tapping your leg as they sit down.

‘Oh, sorry, I’ll move over a little,’ you say, not looking up. Then a hand places itself on the offending leg, and you know instantly that this isn’t a stranger. Looking up, you find yourself staring into the perfect eyes of Theo Raeken. Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

‘Fancy seeing you here,’ he says in mock-surprise.

‘Theo, oh my god. What are you doing here?’ You run your tongue over your lips, making sure you haven’t gotten chocolate all over yourself.

‘Here, you missed a spot.’ Theo leans over and wipes the side of your mouth with his thumb, making your lips tingle in the process. Suddenly, you’re feeling a lot more alert.

‘Probably here for the same reason you are. All those dead bodies.’ He indicates behind him back towards the main hall, and once more you’re treated to a brilliant view of his impeccable jawline. 

‘Don’t you know what the Dread Doctors are doing? What’s the point of the Beast? Why does it keep killing people?’ you ask, knowing he won’t give you a straight answer, if he answers at all.

‘I wish I knew,’ he sighs. ‘But the Doctors never told me their plan. I think they used me just as much as I used them, in the end, and now they want nothing to do with me. You saw that last night. Are you alright? That thing was…horrifying.’

After you both left the school last night, you’d felt numb with fright and barely spoke to Theo as he walked you back to your bike, and now that the fear had had time to percolate within you, you wish you’d told him how scared you were back then instead of bottling it up until now. You’re not sure what to say. The fear that the Beast instilled in you can’t seem to be put into words. You feel your eyes begin to well up, and your promise not to cry in front of Theo ever again threatens to break. You settle on your answer before you can stop yourself.

‘No. No, Theo, I’m not okay.’

And then the floodgates open. Before you can stop them, the tears erupt from your eyes and Theo has wrapped his arms around you, holding you close to his chest like he did the night before. He murmurs soothing words to you as you cry, and you take heart from his body beneath your hands, the way his arms interlock behind your back like a shield against everything the world could throw at you. As much as you hate feeling vulnerable, it does come with its perks.

But even Theo can’t stop the Beast. Not alone, anyway. And as strong a bond as love can be, even love would pale against that monster. Hell, even the bazooka you wanted would probably have just made it mad.

‘It’s going to be okay. I have a plan, but I think I’m going to need your help. Can you do something for me?’

You take another deep breath and pull away from Theo. His arms unlock from behind you, but he rests his hands on your upper arms, refusing to let you go as you look into his eyes. How can you know what he’s thinking behind those eyes? Is he just trying to use you in your moment of weakness? You look away, a fresh bout of tears threatening to burst forth.

‘What…what can I do to help? I don’t think there’s anything we can do against that thing.’ you ask, but Theo shakes his head. 

‘Look at me.’ He tilts your head back with his hand before returning it to your arm, and you force yourself to keep eye contact this time. ‘You’re stronger than you know. I’ve told you that before. And I’m pretty sure Scott has too. So, yeah, you can do something to help me. To help everyone. You wanna save your pack, and mine?’

Again, you ask, ‘What can I do?’ In your world of supernatural creatures, with werewolves, Kanimas, chimeras, Dread Doctors, and now the Beast running around, your fragile human self is feeling even more insignificant than usual. You can’t fight, not as well as Scott or Malia can. You’re not as good at detective work as Stiles, or as smart as Lydia. You can’t control lightning like Kira, or throw fireballs like Parrish. You’re just human. 

‘I need your help, to bring my pack together. I need them to fight as one, or they’re all going to die. And whether you realise it or not, you’ve got a way with people. Even when your entire pack isn’t speaking to each other, they’re still speaking to you. Even after you hooked up with me. That’s how much they trust you.’

The compliment makes your chest swell with pride. When you look back, you realise it’s true. Although, there’s one person you haven’t reached out to yet. Maybe this can work in your favour. ‘If I do this for you, I need you to do something for me.’

‘Name it,’ Theo replies.

‘I need you to help Malia. Scott thinks she’s trying to kill her mom, the Desert Wolf. And I’m sure you know more about it than we do, I know she’s been talking to you more than the rest of us. If you promise to help her find her mom, I’ll help your pack.’

‘You want me to help her kill her mom?’ Theo asks. He doesn’t look quite as shocked as you’d thought he might. Maybe Scott’s not the first person he’s killed. The thought makes you shiver, but you dismiss it before Theo can question you further.

‘No, just help Malia find her. What she does after that, is entirely up to her. Now, what do you want me to do?

‘Like I said, I need you to help bring my pack together.’

‘Why? What are you going to do?’

‘I’m not going to do anything. They’re going to capture Deucalion, and you’re going to help them.’

What have you gotten yourself into now?

****

On the scale of bad ideas, this was off the charts. Four chimeras, one of which has no offensive abilities, and a fragile, petrified human, against an experienced alpha who used to lead a whole pack of alphas. Even back when he was blind, you’d never have stood a chance. But since Jennifer Blake restored his sight before he left Beacon Hills last time, you know you have no hope of beating him now.

But Theo was having none of it.

‘My sources say that he’s blind again,’ he tells you as he pulls his car up to seemingly innocent detached house. It even has a picket fence; certainly not where you’d expect a homicidal alpha to live. ‘That dark druid that gave him his sight back? Her spells didn’t take, so now he’s back to how he was the last time you fought him.’

‘He was dangerous enough when he was blind, you know. Can’t you just ask Deucalion whatever you want to ask him?’ You wish. As if it would be that easy.

‘Somehow, I don’t think that’ll help. That’s where you guys come in.’ He points out over the steering wheel to another car across the street where Tracey, Josh, and Corey are waiting.

‘Where’s Hayden?’ She’s probably the only one of Theo’s pack that you feel like you can talk to properly, so not having her here makes things more difficult.

‘She has to work.’ Make that three chimeras and a fragile human. This just keeps getting better and better. ‘I guess some of us still have lives outside of all this. Remember what that was like?’

‘Not really,’ you admit. ‘But it’d be nice to get back to all that one day. Maybe we could go on another date.’ You grin mischievously, trying to cover up the fear that is balling itself up in your stomach even now. This is such a bad idea. You should get out of here and call Scott. But that’d blow your cover, and you can’t do that. Scott’s counting on you. The whole pack is. And now, Theo’s pack is too.

‘Considering how our last date went, I could go for that,’ Theo says, a hungry look in his eye. But then he’s all business again. ‘But that’s going to have to wait until we stop the Beast. And to do that, we need Deucalion. Are you ready?’

‘I wish. But let’s do this anyway. Where are you going? It’s getting dark, won’t the Beast be out soon?’ As if worrying about yourself, and Theo’s pack, isn’t bad enough. Now he’s driving off to who-knows-where to do who-knows-what and you’ll have to worry about him too.

‘I’m fulfilling my side of the deal – I’m going to help Malia find her mom. I’ll see you guys later; they know where to take Deucalion once you’ve got him, but you can’t go with them – it’s one of the Dread Doctors’ old operating theatres, and I can’t let you know where they are. Not yet.’ So, Theo doesn’t trust you quite as much as you thought after all. ‘But I’ll swing by your house later tonight. I promise.’

He reaches over and kisses you quickly, nothing like your passionate exchange the night before. He pops the door open behind you, and you climb out onto the sidewalk. Across the street, the three chimeras get out and cross towards you.

‘That’s if we don’t all die screaming.’

‘You won’t. I have faith in you. All of you.’ He smiles one last time, then puts his car into gear and drives away without another word.

‘You ready to do this?’ Tracey asks, the hostility in her voice not even barely concealed. 

‘Not really. But since I’m the only one here that’s fought this guy before and lived to tell the tale, it’d be nice if you didn’t glare at me like that.’ Not strictly true, since Scott and the others did most of the fighting, but you’re not going to tell Tracey that, especially when you see the frown on her face give way to shock. Corey and Josh share a look; they weren’t expecting you to stand up to her.

‘So Theo told me the plan. Everyone okay with it?’

‘Are we okay with attacking someone way out of our league, on his home turf, after standing outside his house for ten minutes so he basically knows we’re coming? Yeah, perfect.’ Corey says.

‘We’re all going to die,’ Josh adds, completely deadpan.

‘No, we’re not,’ you say with as much confidence as you can muster, even if you silently agree with him. ‘We’re going to do this, and Theo’s going to be so proud, he’ll buy everyone ponies.’

‘Somehow, I doubt that,’ Tracey says, but with less disdain in her voice than last time, and Corey outright laughs.

‘Yeah, me too,’ you admit, ‘but it’s nice to dream, right? So let’s do this and get it over with.’

The four of you march across the street and up Deucalion’s oddly quaint garden path. The whole thing feels wrong, but that’s probably part of his plan. No one would think to look for him somewhere like this. ‘Josh, you want to do the honours?’

Josh grins, his mouth full of chimera teeth, and that lavender sheen you’d come to despise glinting in his eyes as he raises a hand and discharges a bolt of lightning at the front door, slamming it from its hinges and crashing it onto the floor, a scorch mark in the centre from the impact.

The four of you dash inside; stealth was never an option here, not with Deucalion’s werewolf senses. Instead, head on, quick and dirty is the name of the game. 

The inside of the house is dark – why would a blind man need the lights on anyway? There’s a thin layer of dust over everything, like no one has lived here in years. A staircase leads up to your right, an empty kitchen at the end of the hallway. Off to your left is the living room. As you stare into the gloom, eyes acclimating to the lack of light, you see a shape in one of the armchairs. The shape of a man, a cane clasped between his hands. Two red lights gleam out at you – Deucalion’s alpha-coloured eyes.

‘Well, hello. I’ve been waiting for you.’ His voice is exactly like you remember, like spiced honey – slick and sweet, with a bite to it that you can’t quite put your finger on. It is layered and hypnotic; Deucalion would make a good public speaker with that voice and his charisma, if it wasn’t for, y’know, all the murdering.

‘I’m guessing you know why we’re here then?’ you ask, playing for time as the chimeras spread out behind you.

‘Oh, I know why they’re here.’ Deucalion gestures with his cane at the chimeras behind you as he stands, then points the end of his cane directly at you. He’s uncapped it already, the bladed point exposed. ‘But I’ll admit, I’m surprised to see you here. You were one of Scott McCall’s staunchest supporters, last time I was in town. What changed?’

‘None of your business,’ you shoot back through gritted teeth. Unfortunately, your scent gives you away.

‘Ah, love, is it? Foolish. But that’s to be expected from children your age, I suppose. Now then, has your little boss told you all what he wants me for? Does he even know why I’m back in town?’

‘I don’t think he cares,’ Tracey says, flicking her claws out. ‘He needs you. We’re here to take you to him.’

‘I may be blind, but I don’t need an escort, you know.’

‘We’ll escort you kicking and screaming if we have to,’ Josh growls, and you can hear the lightning playing about his fingertips from behind you, the smell of ozone in the air. Deucalion’s eyebrows raise.

‘You want to fight, then? You think you can take me down? Four children against the Demon Wolf?’ 

'We beat you once before!' you almost shout, clenching your fists at your sides. 'We can do it again.'

'Ah, you mean Scott beat me before. But Scott's not here now, is he? You're all alone.' 

'No, they're not.' Tracey, Josh, and Corey step up beside you. Your confidence and defiance in the face of almost certain death must have inspired them. Or they're all as crazy as you are. Either way, you're in this together now.

He chuckles darkly, and unsheathes his own claws. ‘Well, let's get this over with, if you're all so intent on dying…’

He moves so fast you can barely see him. In seconds, he’s thrown his cane across the room where it barely misses Corey’s head, impaling itself in the wall, and as you turn back, Deucalion’s palm slaps into your chest. You go flying backwards, colliding with Corey who is still mid-dodge and you both fall in a heap at the bottom of the staircase. Tracey and Josh dash forward to engage Deucalion, their three sets of claws whizzing through the air with a sound like irritated gnats.

‘This isn’t even a fair fight. Three chimeras and a human against a blind man? I almost feel sorry for you.’ Deucalion growls menacingly, grabbing Josh’s arm as he extends it to fire a lightning blast, instead redirecting it into Tracey’s stomach. She crashes into an armchair from the force of the electricity, which topples over on top of her, and then he drives his knee into Josh’s elbow, snapping his arm in two. A bloodcurdling scream cuts through the night, and Josh drops to the floor, cradling his wound.

You extricate yourself from Corey and charge Deucalion head on. You’re not sure why; it’s a suicidal move, but you’re running out of ideas. You just need to get him in the right place and this can still go your way. Theo must have been insane, thinking you could take Deucalion on. He sidesteps and you charge past him, your momentum taking you into the opposite wall. He faces you again, a snarl twisting his otherwise handsome face into a monstrous image instead.

You catch the eyes of the three chimeras, each pulling themselves up off the floor for a second attack. They’re exactly where they need to be, they realise. And now Deucalion’s exactly where you want him. His hubris has him surrounded, and even if that doesn’t faze him, it puts him in place for your plan to take effect.

‘NOW!’ you shout, pulling a cylindrical object out of your pocket. You raise it and pull the pin as you shield your eyes, detonating the flashbang grenade right in Deucalion’s face. The alpha screams in agony, the flash of the grenade amplified by the specialized wolf vision that made him so formidable even while blind. He staggers backwards, and Corey, now camouflaged against the carpet, sweeps Deucalion’s legs out from under him.

As the alpha crashes to the floor, Tracey is on him, her claws a blur of movement as she slices across all of his major joints. Both elbows, both knees, and his neck – now, he’s as harmless as a newborn wolf cub.

‘Ha,’ he manages to croak, blood seeping out of his milky white eyes, staining them a dark pink. His arms are useless; he can’t even wipe it away. ‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…’ 

He’s right – it’s exactly the same trick Scott used against Deucalion last time, and it worked like a charm.

‘Underestimating us was a mistake.’ You try to sound more confident than you feel. From Deucalion’s smug look, he doesn’t agree.

‘Oh no, not all of you. They're all still useless. But you. You're something else. Underestimating **you** was a mistake. One I won't make so readily again. Just get this over with, child. I’ll get my vengeance on you yet. Or perhaps I’ll just tell Scott that you’re working with his enemies, and watch your life fall apart around you.’

Little does he know that Scott’s well aware of what you’re up to. To a certain extent, anyway. If he knew you were fighting Deucalion with only three inexperienced chimeras for back-up, he’d probably go insane.

Despite the fact he cannot back up his threat, Deucalion’s threat makes your face drain of blood, and he laughs cruelly. You nod at Josh, looking away from the incapacitated monster, and he thrusts his unbroken arm out at the downed alpha, sending an electrical current through his body. Deucalion spasms on the floor, limbs jerking out at odd angles, before he comes to rest, unconscious, his clothes smoking.

You exhale deeply. You can’t believe you did it.

‘You guys know where to take him, right? Theo said you couldn’t tell me, but you knew where to go.’ Josh leans over and slings Deucalion’s unconscious body over his unwounded shoulder, Tracey grabbing the other side while Corey darts forward and moves the crushed furniture out of the way so that the two of them could manoeuvre him out of the doorway and into their waiting car.

‘I guess I’ll see you guys later?’ you say, not really sure how to end this strange, strange night. 

‘You can count on it,’ Josh grunts as he dumps Deucalion unceremoniously into the trunk of the car. You turn to leave, but Tracey calls you back.

‘He’s not the only one that underestimated you. Nice job,’ Tracey says, holding out a hand to shake. You take it gingerly, expecting her to flick out her claws and paralyze you for good measure, but she just shakes it and gives you a nod.

‘Yeah, that was…amazing. But I don’t ever want to do that again,’ Corey adds, and you agree wholeheartedly. Josh claps you on the shoulder like you’ve just scored the winning goal in the final lacrosse game of the season.

This feels eerily familiar – it’s like being around your friends. Your pack. No, you correct yourself – your other pack.

****

You enter Scott’s dining room to find a large blueprint in the centre of the table, with photographs and a keycard placed at each corner to hold it flat. Around it stand your friends, once more reunited. Scott and Kira smile at each other, hands clasped under the table where they think no one can see them. Liam stands to Scott’s other side, shooting him glances when he thinks Scott is too busy smiling at Kira to notice. Stiles is pretending to be engrossed in the map in the centre of the table, trying not to look at Malia standing next to him, who’s clutching her stomach gingerly and doing her best to ignore him right back. It’s a table of hidden looks and barely concealed happiness at the fact you’re all together once again. You don’t even bother concealing it – you wear an unabashed grin on your face. Which soon turns to a frown as you approach Malia.

‘What happened?’ you ask Malia, pointing at her stomach but almost afraid of the answer. If Theo helped her find the Desert Wolf, did she hurt her? And did Malia kill her?

But your fears are unfounded when she says instead ‘Your boyfriend shot me. With a shotgun. What an asshole.’ You’re not really sure what to say to that – you heard the words, but your brain won’t register them properly.

‘Are you alright?’ you ask lamely, but Malia waves you away like a bug that won’t quit.

‘I’m fine, I don’t wanna talk about it. Just make sure he stays away from me.’ Yeah, like you can make Theo do anything he doesn’t want to do. But you file this away to ask him about when you see him next. You asked him to help Malia, not shoot her, for crying out loud. But you have bigger things to worry about right now.

Scott draws your attention when he grins around the table at you all. From Kira, to Stiles, to Malia, to you, to Liam, and back – it’s a smile full of hope for the future, a hope that you finally stand a chance to win this war against the Dread Doctors and the Beast; a smile full of unbridled joy at the fact that you’ve all come back to him. As if there was ever any doubt you would. 

At least, you’ve almost all come back. There’s still one person missing. Then Liam places the book he’s holding down in the centre of the table – the sticker on the front reads ‘Eichen Security Log’ – and you know what’s coming next. After defeating Deucalion, you’re pretty sure you can handle anything. Or maybe that’s just the adrenaline talking. Scott has your full attention, and you’re raring to go when he finally stops grinning and turns serious.

‘Now, we get Lydia.’


	15. Full Circle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during the events of Teen Wolf 5x15 - Amplification

You’re lying in bed, wide awake. The moon is shining through your curtains, but that’s not the reason you can’t sleep. Your mind is replaying your adventures from the past few days on a loop; Seeing Theo in the waterworks, finding the Beast and the Dread Doctors at the school, fighting Deucalion with the chimeras and actually taking him down, and now hearing that Scott intends to storm Eichen House and rescue Lydia…the adrenaline alone is almost intoxicating. But it’s counteracted by fear – fear of the Beast, fear of the balancing act you’re pulling between the two packs, fear of losing Theo when he finds out what you’ve been doing. So, in short, you definitely can’t sleep.

Closing your eyes might help, you think. You roll to one side and snuggle into the pillow, trying to will yourself to sleep. You don’t know how successful you’ve been, if you’ve been asleep at all, when a cool draught blows across your face. You must have left the window open or something you think, and one eye peeks open, just to check. That’s when you see the silhouette standing in front of the window, bearing down on you over the bed, and you open your mouth to scream.

Then Theo walks into the path of the moonlight streaming in, its brilliant light playing about his features and making his perfect skin shine. It catches the tips of his hair, making them appear lighter than they have in weeks, and his eyes sparkle in the darkness, and not through supernatural means for a change.

‘Oh god, Theo, you scared the life out of me!’ you whisper, letting out the breath you didn’t realise you’d been holding. You bunch the covers up around you, suddenly self-conscious; but unnecessarily so, surely. He’s seen it all before. He knows you, intimately. You tell yourself you’re just cold from the draught Theo must have let in when he entered through the window; not that you’re scared of him, and drawing the covers up might protect you in some way.

Theo’s smirk looks even more mischievous in the moonlight, like some hidden meaning just below the surface is almost ready to reveal itself, but not quite. He sits on the edge of your bed and gazes intently at you.

‘I’m sorry. I was trying to be discrete, but I guess that failed spectacularly. Do you want me to leave?’

No. Never. But you settle for a shake of your head, and a ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Did you forget?’ Theo’s brown creases just slightly, giving him a cute little furrow between his eyes. ‘I said I’d come check on you after I finished what I was doing tonight.’

‘You mean when you finished shooting Malia, and leaving her and Braeden to get eaten by the Beast, or shot by the Desert Wolf?’ You feel the anger come unbidden – you know Theo must have had a good reason for that. Or you hope anyway. But truth be told, you’re getting tired of giving him the benefit of the doubt and getting nothing in return. He’s asked the impossible of you tonight, and you delivered, so your rage is justified, you think.

Theo looks downcast at your accusation, but there’s no point in him denying it. He knows you’ve spoken to Malia. He seems to be searching for the right words, but is having trouble putting them in the right order. You know that feeling well – you felt that way the first few times you spoke to him.

‘Theo,’ you say, much more tenderly than before. He looks up at you, looking like a puppy being told off for chewing the furniture. Again with the dog metaphors; your brain was obviously more tired than you thought. But he’s not getting off the hook with a soppy face and a smile. ‘It’s okay,’ you tell him, even if it’s not. ‘I know you had a good reason. And Malia’s fine, and so is Braeden, and Doctor Deaton’s safe too.’

‘Good. That’s good,’ Theo replies, and he genuinely appears to be happy that they’re okay. ‘I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt. But there are some things I just have to do, and getting those claws from Malia’s mother was too important. I’m sorry I shot her, but I knew she’d be okay. I didn’t know the Beast was going to turn up, I swear.’

You feel the covers receding under you again, and Theo notices as you drag them back up. ‘Are you cold?’ he asks, and before waiting for an answer, he crawls up the bed to lay by your side, so close you can feel his breath on your face, but no part of his body is yet touching yours. Still, his proximity is enough to make you blush, and the heat radiating off of his supernaturally powered body does fill you with warmth. Or maybe there’s another reason for that. You can’t think straight with the moonlight in Theo’s eyes like that.

‘I believe you,’ you tell him when you finally manage to get the words out. ‘But you have to tell me what’s going on. I fought Deucalion for you, Theo. I lied to my friends to help you; they thought I was at home all day after I left the hospital. There’s only so much I can take before I think you’re just taking advantage of me.’

‘I’m not. I promise. You mean so much to me,’ he says, getting even closer now. His hand slips under the bedclothes and finds yours, gripping it tightly. ‘I know I’m asking a lot. I know that trusting me is hurting you, and making it hard to be around Scott and the others. But you have to trust me just a little bit longer. Now that I’ve got the claws, we’re one step closer to finishing this once and for all.’

You smile weakly at him. Just a little longer, you think. You can manage that.

‘Did you tell Scott about Deucalion?’ Theo asks. There’s no accusation or anger in his voice. It’s an innocent question, as if he’s prepared for whatever answer you give.

‘He knows you’re looking for him. I didn’t tell him what we did tonight; I guessed you didn’t want him to know, so I kept my mouth shut. Like I said, he thought I was at home all evening.’ It’s true – you haven’t told Scott. Not yet. You don’t want to tip his hand into moving against Theo if what Theo’s planning will benefit all of you, and telling Scott that Theo’s got a powerful alpha tied up somewhere isn’t such a good idea. Plus, he’s got enough on his plate trying to organise the rescue mission into Eichen House.

‘That’s good, thank you. I promise, you won’t have to lie to Scott or anyone else soon.’ He lays his head sideways onto the pillow next to yours, and you copy him, his face filling your entire field of vision. You watch the points of his hair bend as they hit the pillow, making it look like a slightly squashed hedgehog. This makes you grin, and he does the same.

‘What? What’s so funny?’ he asks, reaching out with the hand that’s not holding yours and touching your face. You shake your head, feeling the warmth of his finger caressing your skin with the motion.

‘Nothing, it’s nothing. You’re just…I can’t believe you exist, sometimes. You’re just so perfect. Yeah, your social skills could use a little work, maybe a few less secrets and a bit less shooting my friends, but I just can’t believe…’

‘What?’ he probes.

‘That…that you’d want to spend your time with me. I’m not special,’ you tell him, and it’s a feeling you’ve had before. A feeling that the Dread Doctors’ illusion picked up on, and one that despite all your friends’ reassurances, you can never quite shake. ‘I’m just human. I’m not that smart, or that strong, and I’m definitely not some super-kickass-were-banshee-coyote-wolf thing. So I just don’t know why someone like you would want to be here with me, when he could have anyone else he wanted.’

Theo smiles, but it’s false, just a twitch of the mouth that doesn’t reach his eyes. ‘You think I’m perfect. You’re insane, you know that?’

‘Pretty damn close,’ you inform him, with a nod of your head.

‘But I’m not. You’ve seen the bad things I’ve had to do. And I know they’re for a good reason, that in the end, I’ll be on the winning side, but sometimes I just don’t know how I’m going to get to the end of the path on my own.’

He looks up at you, but before you can tell him he’s not alone, he finishes the thought himself.

‘But all that changed once I met you. I told you before, about how you look at your friends, how you’d do anything to protect them, no matter how much it hurt you? And how I wanted you to look at me the way you look at them?’ 

You nod, scared to speak in case Theo stops talking, bottling back up all these hidden emotions that you’ve never managed to coax out of him.

‘And then when you did, when I saw you look at me with those eyes, and then when…you saw me outside the library, and I could tell I’d betrayed you, betrayed all of you, and I’d broken your heart along with your trust. And I never thought I’d win that back. And I thought that’d be it – without you there, I’d never have the strength to do what I know needs to be done, even if Scott and the others can’t see it.’

‘But you didn’t lose me for long,’ you tell him, running your thumb across the knuckles of the hand resting on yours. ‘And I’d like to think I taught you a little something about betraying your friends along the way.’

‘Yeah, you did. I know Scott and the others will never trust me again, not like you do. But that’s what I’m trying to say. You trust me – you’re prepared to go along with whatever I ask you to do, and I don’t need threats or bribes or anything like that, because you do genuinely trust me. Even my pack doesn’t feel that way, at least not all of them. And you know I hate having to talk to them the way I do. But having you here, with me, it makes me feel like I can do this. Like we can all live through this. Even if Scott, Stiles, Liam, and the rest of your pack don’t trust me, I know I can save them all, because you do.’

You don’t know what to say. You’ve never heard Theo say so much, never in a million years thought he’d pour out his heart the way he just did. Instead of saying anything, you untangle your fingers from his hand, ducking in under his arm, and press your back against his chest. You grab the hand you’d just relinquished and pull it close, and Theo uses his free hand to run through your hair, drawing absentmindedly on your forehead with his fingers. 

You close your eyes, content and safe in the arms of the one you love, and the one that you know now loves you back, perhaps even more intensely than you do him, if that’s possible, and finally, you fall asleep.

When you wake the next morning, except for the depression in the bed where he lay, and a warmth in the sheets, it’s as if Theo was never there at all.

****

Your eyes take a moment to adjust as the room is blanketed by darkness. You blink rapidly, the sunlight from outside bringing everything back into focus. You exchange panicked looks with Kira and Malia, and the three of you come to an unspoken consensus.

‘We should get out of here,’ Malia says.

‘Oh yeah,’ Kira adds, and you agree hastily before scraping back your stool and throwing down your safety goggles. You’ve been spending the morning with the pair of them, helping Kira practise siphoning the electricity out of a lightbulb. The results had been…explosive, and now she’d managed to overload the electrical grid and short out the entire school, if not more. So it was definitely time to get out of here. Plus, school on a Saturday was depressing as hell. 

You follow the two of them out into the hall, but call out as they pull ahead of you. ‘I left my bag in the lab, I’ll catch up with you!’ Malia calls back, letting you know they heard, as the two of them push the double doors open and disappear into the sunshine. You double back into the classroom, closing the door behind you.

‘You can come out now, you know,’ you say to seemingly thin air. Without waiting for an answer, you sweep the broken glass from Kira’s failed experiments into the trashcan and pick up your bag, which you had indeed left behind. On purpose. 

‘How did you know I was here?’ 

Turning back, Corey’s camouflage drops and reveals his hiding place against one of the noticeboards. You give him a disapproving look, and he returns it with a sheepish smile. 

‘Every time Kira blew up a lightbulb, I heard you squeak. Malia was really confused, but I think she just ignored it after the first five times.’ He looks at his shoes, trying to distract you, then darts for the door, but you’re faster, blocking his way.

‘Oh no you don’t. What are you doing here? Spying on me?’ You try and sound angry, but you know it won’t work for long; Corey’s a little scared of Scott and the others, but you’re just a human, and if he really wanted to push past you, he could. Still, it has the desired effect for now.

‘Not…on you. Theo wanted to know what you guys were up to. He knows you’re going to go after Lydia eventually, so he had me spy on Kira and Malia to see what they were doing. He trusts you. I think we all do, even Tracey’s coming around a little. But he still wants to know what the rest of your pack’s doing. In fact, he wanted me to come find you afterwards anyway.’

This is interesting – what could Theo possibly want that he couldn’t have told you last night when he came to your bedroom? Corey continues, ‘he’s in the library right now, if you wanna go see him? I think he wanted to talk to Scott.’

‘Yeah, that’s a good idea.’ You told yourself last night you were done giving Theo the benefit of the doubt – so here’s your chance to prove that, to him and to yourself. You step aside, so that Corey can leave. He gives you another sheepish smile as he disappears, both through the door and out of sight as his camouflage drops back into place. You follow the path Malia and Kira took to the double doors, then cross the campus and swipe your keycard through the library door lock.

Across the room, you can see Stiles and Scott departing, leaving Theo alone in the centre of the room. He slams the book in his hand closed with one hand, then puts it on the table and leans over it, an angry look on his usually restrained face.

You descend the steps as quietly as you can, and slip your arms around his waist, resting your head on his back. You can feel his heartbeat, controlled and steady, echoing through his ribcage. He twists in your arms, sitting himself on the table behind him, leaving your hands resting on his thighs.

‘I heard you were looking for me,’ you tell him, a false edge of anger to your voice as you appraise him. He’s wearing a sleeveless hoodie, with a black t-shirt underneath that highlights his sculpted arms, tight across the swell of his biceps. It sets your heart beating much faster than his, just looking at them, and his playful smile doesn’t help matters either. 

‘And who told you that?’

‘I ran into Corey, hiding out and spying on me. You know you can just text if you want to see me, right?’ 

‘I know, but this is much more fun,’ he replies, flashing you another grin.

‘Definitely. But let me say hello properly first…’ You lean forward and put one hand behind Theo’s head, drawing him down towards your waiting lips. He mirrors you, his own hand grazing the back of your head gently as he returns your affections. His taste is intoxicating; you can’t get enough of his lips on yours, but eventually he breaks away, all business once again.

‘You know I could kiss you forever,’ he tells you, and you feel the same way. ‘But I need you to do something for me, and it can’t wait.’

‘Something else? Was fighting Deucalion not enough for you?’ Now the anger in your voice isn’t quite so false. You remind yourself; you’re done doing Theo’s dirty work for nothing. No matter how good he tastes. 

‘Hey, what’s the matter?’ he asks, taken aback. And now that he’s on the back foot, you make your move.

‘I told you last night, there’s not much more I can take of you asking me to trust you, to help you, to defend you against Scott and the others. I need something from you first. I need to know what you’re planning. Why did you need those claws from Malia’s mom?’

Theo looks away, unable to meet your eyes. When he speaks again, his voice is low and you have to strain to hear him. ‘It’s not that complicated, really. Those claws, they can siphon the power of other supernatural creatures.’

‘You’re not still after Scott, are you?’ You’re scared to hear what he has to say next, but his answer is almost worse than you feared.

‘No, not anymore. I’m going after the Beast itself. I’m going to steal its power, and then I’m going to snap its neck so it can’t kill anyone else.’ 

You can’t believe what you’re hearing. Even after seeing that enormous monster, the hulking black shape with claws as long as pitchfork prongs, dripping shadows wherever it walks, Theo wants to fight it head on? He’s insane, and you tell him as much.

‘You can’t be serious. That thing will kill you! You saw it at the school, nothing can stop it. There’s no way you’d be able to take it down, no matter how strong you are. I won’t let you, I won’t lose you!’ You’re almost shouting now, pounding on Theo’s chest with your fists. He grips your wrists gently, and when you look up at him with blurry eyes, you realise you’ve started to cry once again. God damn it, your promise to yourself not to cry in front of him wasn’t working out very well.

‘Hey, it’ll be okay. I’ve got a back-up plan too. And that’s where you come in. You’ve seen that fresco, on the wall in one of the Dread Doctors’ operating theatres, the one that the Argents found with the Hellhound, and the Beast?’ You nod, blinking back your tears and regaining your composure. This didn’t count, you tell yourself. ‘If I can get a Hellhound, it can fight the Beast. And when it’s weak, then I can strike.’ He flicks the claws of his right hand out, and they glint in the sunlight, emphasising his point.

‘So where do you get a Hellhound?’ you ask, again afraid of the answer.

‘First, I need a banshee. And you know where I can get one of those.’ 

‘You want to break into Eichen House too?’

‘Got it in one. And I want your help to do it. Will you help me?’ 

You gaze into his eyes, his steely gaze both gripping and pleading at the same time. He wants you, needs you to say yes. He’s seen how you fit into his pack, how you were essential in taking down Deucalion, how much you add, even if you can’t quite see it yourself. But you’re meant to be helping Scott break into Eichen. How can you do two things at once? You’re being torn apart, both literally and emotionally. But you lean forward, smiling as you plant another kiss on Theo’s waiting lips.

‘Of course I will,’ you tell him, and you share another deep, deep embrace. But all the while, your enjoyment is tinged with worry. What are you getting yourself into now?

****

‘No, no, this is good,’ Scott says. You’ve just returned from the library, and not knowing what else to do, you’ve come to Scott’s house to tell him about your conversation with Theo. You couldn’t be in two places at once; you couldn’t break into Eichen with two packs at the same time. You had to tell Scott what Theo had asked you; maybe he could untangle this mess you’d managed to find yourself in.

‘What are you talking about? Unless Doctor Deaton’s got some kind of cloning machine hiding away in the vet that I don’t know about, I’m stuck!’ You throw your hands up in frustration, but Scott just gives you his knowing smile, the one that always lets you know that everything’s going to be alright, and you sigh deeply, but rein in your hysteria.

‘Look, I know you must feel like you’re being torn in two. I’ve asked you to do so much, and so has Theo; you’re doing probably more than the rest of us put together at the moment, and I’m sorry for that. But you’re the most important one of us all right now.’ Somehow, you don’t think that’s true, but when Scott says it, you can almost believe it.

‘Theo thinks you’re playing both sides, so he’s asked you to do this to prove you’re loyal to his pack, or at least willing to choose him over us if you have to. So, pick him. You’re getting closer to him, right? We’ll tweak our plan, and you can go with Theo’s pack – then, if he does manage to take Lydia, which he won’t, because we’ll get there first, but if he does, you’ll be there to make sure he doesn’t do anything to hurt her again.’

You’re not sure about this. Can you really pull this off? The ultimate deception? But then, will it really be a deception? You’re going to get Lydia out of Eichen House – surely the method didn’t matter so much as the result? And since it was Theo’s fault she was there in the first place, helping him get her out makes some sort of poetic sense.

‘Hey.’ Scott pulls you out of your reverie. ‘I know you can do this. But if you really don’t think you can, then just tell me. I’m not going to force you, and I won’t put you in danger by making you go with Theo if you don’t want to.’ Typical Scott. Always looking out for everyone else, even if it’d make his life harder. How can you let him down, when he needs you? He’s done so much for you, saved you more times than you can count, and now he’s asking you to do something only you can do. How could you even think about denying him now?

‘No. Scott, no. I’ll do it.’ You know that if you looked in the mirror right now, your face would have that distinctive look that Theo loves so much, and that you’ve come to admire about yourself. You’re doing what you can to protect your friends. You’ll always protect your friends. Even if it technically means abandoning them when they need you the most.

****

‘We’re here for Lydia Martin.’

Schrader’s face drains of blood as Theo reaches across the reception desk and drags him out of his chair by the lapels, throwing him across the floor with a crash. You step over him, trying to look intimidating (and failing, you expect), and follow Theo down the stairs towards the Closed Unit. You can feel the other chimeras behind you, trailing along. They know you hold a higher position in the pack now; even if they’re supernatural and you’re not, in Theo’s eyes you’re as important as he is, and they’re treating you with the same kind of respect, whether they think you deserve it or not.

If Scott’s plan is working, then you just walked past the Electrical Room where Malia and Kira are hiding. Liam, Scott, and Stiles are taking the long route around the building, past the guards and towards the same place you and Theo’s pack are heading. The mountain ash inside the walls of the asylum restricts their movements, but Theo and the other chimeras don’t have the same problem. And of course, neither do you.

Everything seems to be going to plan. You just hope Stiles can get to Lydia before Theo does, so you’re not forced into an awkward situation.

****

You look around you, shocked and surprised at how badly things have turned out. Tracey holds Doctor Valack up against the wall by his throat, claws extended. Lydia is lying on a cot in her cell, a gaping hole in her head the evidence of Valack’s insane experiments, his trepanation device discarded on the floor, blood and skin still stuck to the vicious circular blade at its tip. Josh and Corey don’t know where to look, what to do. Stiles is nowhere to be found – your worst fears have come true; you and the chimeras have reached Lydia before him.

You look to Theo, but all he can do is smile - he's getting exactly what he wants, because to make things even worse, coming down the corridor towards you, leaving ashen footsteps in his wake, is Deputy Parrish. His clothes have all burned away, bar his surprisingly flame retardant shorts. Cracks run through his torso, little rivers of lava pulsing across his skin. His eyes are blazing crimson, and fangs extend from his lips as he snarls at you all.

But then just when it all looks hopeless, when you feel like everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong, you hear it. Scott’s roar echoes through the halls of the building, filling you with renewed hope. Scott’s counting on you. Lydia’s counting on you. Even if he doesn’t know it, Theo’s counting on you too. You’ve got two packs relying on you to get them out of this mess.

So it’s time you wracked your brain and worked out how the hell you’re going to do it.


	16. Live Through This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set during the events of Teen Wolf 5x16 - Lie Ability

You’ve been in tougher situations, you try to reassure yourself. Sure, there’s a flaming man with a major rage-on coming right toward you. Sure, Lydia’s in no position to escape Eichen House without help. Sure, Doctor Valack has drilled a hole in her head and turned her into the banshee equivalent of a nuclear warhead. But...but...okay, this was bad. Really, really bad.

Parrish stalks towards you, but there’s no hint of recognition in his eyes. There’s just the Hellhound left at the moment, and all it can see is Theo’s hand around Lydia’s neck, and that’s really pissing it off. You’d shout at Theo, but you know there’s no way he’d hurt Lydia; he needs her, and he said he wouldn’t hurt anyone else anymore if he could avoid it. He’s just threatening her to keep Parrish under control. Hopefully.

Too bad it’s not working at all, as the Hellhound continues to stalk down the corridor, patches of flame remaining in its footprints to mark its passage. Theo growls out orders, and the chimeras charge forward to attack. Even before they get there you know it’s futile, and you can only watch as Tracey and Josh are flung aside as if they’re nothing but paper to Parrish’s flame. Corey is nowhere to be seen – he’s either retreated, or he’s waiting for his moment to strike. If you had his powers, you know what you’d want to do right now; get the hell out of there. But no, Lydia still needs your help, so you find yourself actually hoping they manage to stop Parrish before he does something he’ll regret when he comes to his senses. Like set you all on fire.

Then from behind you comes a yell, and you turn to see Doctor Valack cracking the trepanation device into Theo’s face, knocking him to the floor. ‘Sorry Theo,’ he spits, ‘I’m not done with her yet!’ He bundles Lydia into his arms and turns to flee, only for his path to be blocked by Stiles, who has appeared as if from nowhere. Thank god! You feel your face burst with a smile despite the impossible situation you’re still in, just glad to see a familiar face.

Leaving Stiles to deal with Valack, you drop to Theo’s side; he’s dazed, and his leg is bleeding – Valack must have stabbed him with the trepanning drill before hitting him in the face with it. You tear a strip from your t-shirt and wrap it around the wound, pulling it tight. You know he’ll heal, but this will certainly speed things up.  
And then things get even worse, as Corey’s screams fill the air. He flies over your head, engulfed in flames, and collides with Stiles, knocking them both to the floor and pining Stiles underneath his now badly burnt body. 

‘I’m fine, don’t worry about me,’ Theo mutters, as you help him get back on his feet. Parrish is now only footsteps away, and you’re not sure how to stop him, or even if you should.

‘Parrish! Stop, it’s us! We’re trying to help Lydia too; you have to stop!’ It’s doubtful you’ll have any effect, but you have to try. You can’t fight Parrish hand to hand, especially not after what he just did to Corey, but Theo’s not strong enough to fight just yet, and you just don’t know what else to do. Words are the only weapons you have left that might be of any effect.

Miraculously, it works. Parrish stops in his tracks, his crimson eyes like the embers of a dying fire flickering at you as he realises what he’s doing. His claws retract, the flames around him die down, and he cocks his head as he regards you with a curious air.

And then Theo strikes, throwing a pipe discarded from the earlier battle across the gap between you, right through Parrish’s chest. He looks down at it, surprise registering on his face as he realises what’s happened. Then he slumps to the floor and falls over backwards.

‘Theo, what the hell?!’ you shout, whirling on him, but he just shakes his head.

‘He’ll be fine, trust me, he’s healed from a lot worse than that. Now we have to find Lydia!’ You twist back to where Lydia was not seconds before, only to find that Doctor Valack has taken her and made his escape; with Corey still pinning Stiles to the floor, he had no one to stop him from fleeing. A slammed door at the end of the corridor tells you where he went, and you and Theo head after him.

‘What about the others?’ you gasp as you begin to run, but Theo brushes your concern off once again.

‘They can look after themselves, don’t worry. We have to find Lydia, or it’ll all be for nothing anyway.’ 

As you run past, you help Stiles dislodge Corey’s prone form from on top of him, and pull him to his feet. He clasps your arm appreciatively, then heads off after Theo without a word. You look down at Corey, his skin blackened and scorched from Parrish’s flames. You desperately want to stop and help him, but Theo is right – Lydia comes first. A hand clasps your shoulder as you turn to leave him, and you jump as Josh smiles weakly at you, his chimera fangs nowhere in sight now.

‘Don’t worry, I’ve got him. You go, we’ll be alright. I’ll make sure of it,’ he tries to reassure you. You return his smile, and then an idea comes to you.

‘Go back to the main foyer, to the Electrical Room behind the main desk. Kira and Malia should still be in there – they can help you. And see if you can find Tracey on the way back, she’s disappeared too.’ Josh nods, gathering Corey up into his arms and begins a slow trudge back the way you came. Sufficiently happy that your friends are going to be alright, you head towards Theo and Stiles at the end of the hall – and yes, they are your friends, you think as the thought fully forms. Maybe they’re not as close to you as your other pack, but as you’ve come to realise, this one needs you too; Theo might have just left them all behind by focusing on the bigger picture, and yes, you want to save Lydia too, but the chimeras are still people, and his tunnel vision could get them killed unnecessarily.

Stiles is banging ineffectually on the door, calling Lydia’s name but generally not being very helpful. You reach forward and pull him away, clearing the doorway for Theo to do his thing. ‘Stiles, stop, let us help!’ you try to calm him down, but he’s so agitated, understandably so considering he was seconds away from saving Lydia only to have her slip from his grasp once again, he barely registers who you are and thrashes violently to get back at the door.

‘Let me try!’ Theo shouts, summoning his supernatural strength and kicking the door in with one swift kick. Stiles regains his composure, hastily apologises to you with a ‘Sorry, sorry, not trying to hurt you, Lydia!’ and brushes past Theo to disappear into the darkened hallway beyond.

Theo, panting from his exertion as well as his wounded leg, calls out after him. ‘You’re not going to find her without me!’ You brush his arm with yours as you join him in the doorway, and he looks back at you with concern in his eyes. ‘Did Stiles hurt you?’

You shake your head. ‘No, it’s fine. He just really wants to find her. Come on, let’s go after him, three heads are better than one. Especially one with supernatural senses, right?’ 

Theo smiles despite himself and the seriousness of the situation. ‘Yeah, you’re right. You’re amazing, you know that? You’re so calm. I saw you stop and help Corey; I wanted to, but Lydia’s too important, and I couldn’t make myself stop. This is why I brought you along. You care about everyone so much, but you don’t let it blind you, or stop you from doing the right thing.’

‘So I’m like your conscience?’ you ask him, and he smirks wryly.

‘Yeah, I guess you are. Now c’mon, Stiles is getting away, and so are Valack and Lydia.’

You nod with purpose, and follow him down into the darkness. And if that isn’t a metaphor for your entire relationship, you don’t know what is.

****

It's not the first time you've thought this; not even the first time today - these tunnels are a complete maze. The three of you have been dashing around, trying to zero in on Lydia's location as best you can, hoping against hope that you'll come across her and Doctor Valack before her condition deteriorates too far. You shake your head, trying to dislodge the morbid thoughts, but they're not going anywhere, stuck in your brain like flies on flypaper.

Theo and Stiles are exchanging glares when they think the other isn't looking, trapping you between the two. The animosity coming off of them is so thick, it's like walking through soup. Angry, angry soup. You can see where Stiles is coming from; it's technically Theo's fault that Lydia is down here - it's Theo's fault that Lydia was in Eichen House at all. 

But you've forgiven him. Or if not forgiven, at least you can understand why he did what he did. You slip your hand into Theo's, hoping to draw his attention away from Stiles, and he grips it tightly, but almost absentmindedly, since his attention never wavers from the tunnels ahead. They bicker backwards and forwards for a while, Stiles ribbing Theo for losing Lydia’s scent, and Theo trying to remind Stiles that he’ll never find her without him. Eventually, Stiles gets tired of all the sniping and charges off ahead.

‘Alright, I’ll find her,’ he says, pushing past you both and heading away down the corridor ahead of you. You open your mouth to call him back, but Theo gets there first. 

‘You know you won’t, Stiles, you’re going to have to trust me!’ Theo calls. Talk about asking a lot. 

‘Trust you? The guy who murdered his own sister when he was nine?’ Stiles shoots back. Wait. What?

‘Yeah,’ Theo says, completely without emotion. ‘I was nine years old. I also believed that a guy in a red suit came down the chimney to deliver presents!’ Stiles looks at him with narrowed eyes, not sure where he’s going with the argument, but you’re still stuck on the previous comment about his sister. 

‘So when three people in leather masks showed up and said that my sister wanted me to have her heart, I believed them, too.’ The words are coming out of Theo’s mouth, but all you can hear is a ringing, vaguely taking in their meaning but not really hearing the words themselves.

‘So together, you gutted and killed her. That’s a beautiful story,’ Stiles replies, nearly slipping in the puddles of sarcasm oozing out of his mouth. Now Theo is getting angry, and his next words come from behind gritted teeth.

‘I watched her fall into the water and freeze to death in minutes. Do you think I had any idea what was going on?’ Conflicted emotions seem to be your forté recently, but now you’re stuck between horrified and full of pain for Theo. Shaking your head, you almost can’t believe Stiles’ next accusation when he speaks it, this time all traces of sarcasm dried up and gone.

‘I think you pushed her,’ he says. ‘And I think you liked it.’

Just then, an ear-piercing scream rattles the pipes on the walls, causing the small exposed lightbulb overhead to flash and splutter, and the three of you to jam your hands over your ears. Once Lydia’s scream subsides, Stiles looks in every direction, up and down the corridor, before back to Theo, helplessness in his eyes.

‘What direction was that? Where is it coming from?’ he almost pleads. It’s true – Stiles does need Theo’s help after all, loathe as he is to admit it. But even if Theo wanted to, he can’t seem to. He spins on the spot, ears straining, but he looks downcast as he replies with one word.

‘Everywhere.’

You can't believe what you've heard. No one told you Theo's sister was dead. Surely Stiles was mistaken; there's no way Theo would have killed her, not on purpose. Even with all the things you’ve seen, all the things he’s done, even after killing Scott, you know Theo can't be a cold-blooded murderer – there had to be a reason. Or an explanation. Something. After all the time you've spent trying to convince yourself that he's not the bad guy, you’re not ready to give up just yet. 

As your brain continues to spin with all this new information, Stiles stalks off ahead of you, leaving you alone with Theo. At some point, Theo's hand has left your own, and you tentatively try to take it again, only for Theo to wrench it out of your grasp.

'No, don't touch me. Not now.' The anguish in his voice is counterbalanced by rage - but is it directed at Stiles, or himself?

'Theo, please. Talk to me. You're not going to be able to find Lydia if you're angry. Talk to me, help me understand. It'll help, I promise.'

He turns to look at you, the scowl that has been twisting his features slowly softening as he realises you are just trying to help, despite his brusqueness. He sighs, the sound echoing around the tunnels like the dying breath of some otherworldly creature – like one of Lydia’s screams. Then finally, he speaks. 'Alright. You're right. But we walk and talk, okay? We can't stop searching - you know what will happen if...'

His sentence hangs unfinished, but you can guess what he's getting at. If Lydia's powers build much further, then you're all dead. You set off down the corridor after Stiles, Theo jogging to keep up with you. His leg must be almost fully healed, since he has no trouble catching up and then falling in step beside you.

‘Is that true? What Stiles said? Did you…’ you can’t complete the sentence, can’t bear to bring the thought to its end, as if by doing so you’ll somehow make it true. But Theo senses what you want to ask, and finishes it for you.

‘Did I kill my sister? No. Not directly. Did I try and save her? No, I didn’t do that either. But did I want her dead?’ He grabs your hand and you both stop. He wants you to look at him when he says this, wants to make sure that you know he’s telling the truth, wants to know that you believe him. You squeeze his hand to reassure him that you’re paying attention, and he continues.

‘No. Of course not. But I was young. And the Dread Doctors, they told me all sorts of things, about how they could make me stronger, how my sister had to die, how she wanted to. They used me. They wanted me to be their success, but instead…’ his eyes drop from yours, sorrow masking his face. You reach out and touch his cheek gently and he twists away, but you force him to look back at you.

‘They used you. For years, they’ve used you. And now that they have the Beast, they don’t need you anymore, and they’ve tossed you aside. But now you know – they’re the bad guys here, not you. You may not be the hero with the spotless record, the guy who always does the right thing, but you’re the guy that gets things done, that saves the day, no matter the cost; the guy that I want to be with. The guy I trust. The guy I love.’ 

You pour as much emotion as you can into your little speech, trying to communicate all the feelings you have in one short, sharp burst to get them across to Theo. He has to know how you feel, how even if he has secrets in his past that he wants to keep, you’re ready to accept them and help him through them. He’s been alone for so long, and now he’s not. Now he has you, and his pack, and maybe one day soon, Scott and your friends too. But for now, you’ll have to be enough.

And for now, you are. He smiles, his genuine, reserved-only-for-you smile that you haven’t seen for what feels like years, and you know you’ve gotten through to him. His morale is back, and that means you can find Lydia, get her out of here, and then deal with whatever else is on its way, too.

‘You know why I brought you with me down here?’ he asks as the two of you continue your pursuit of Stiles, and you shake your head. You’d been wondering, actually. He’d explicitly left Hayden behind to watch Deucalion, when really Corey would have been better suited for the job, because he wasn’t sure if he could trust her around Liam. But surely you were more emotionally compromised than she was? You’re in love with him, for crying out loud.

‘It’s like I said before – you know what the right thing to do is. You stopped and helped Josh and Corey. You can see the good in me, even if no one else can, even when I can’t see it in myself. You’re here to save your friends, all your friends, even the ones you barely know, and you won’t let anything stop you.’

‘Even your epic levels of self-pity and angst,’ you add with a grin.

‘Even that,’ Theo agrees. ‘And that’s why I wanted you here with me. You’re the light to follow in the dark, always pointing me back to where I need to go, where I belong. With you. On the right side of things, at the end of the day. Even if the path I take isn’t the straight and narrow one.’

‘I…didn’t realise you needed me so much,’ you admit, slightly taken aback by the admission. You feel like if Stiles were here, Theo would never have confessed to such a flaw in his character, but since it’s just the two of you, he’s willing to acknowledge his problems.

Theo gazes at you, that special smile once more plastered across his face as he replies, ‘More than you’ll ever know.’

****

You watch as Stiles and Lydia flee the operating theatre as quickly as they can. You offer your arm to help, but Stiles shakes his head roughly and pushes on. He wants to make sure this gets done – he’s not letting Lydia out of his sight until they’re safe, and he’s not going to let anyone stop him, or help him, until he knows no one will hurt her again. You feel certain that leaving him to it is the best course of action for now. You’ll follow soon enough.

But for now, that leaves you alone with Theo and the dead body of Doctor Valack, slowly bleeding out across the floor of the room, half of his face missing thanks to the force of Lydia’s last supernatural scream. Theo looks around, trying to see what Valack was doing here but it all just looks like a mess of wires and contraptions to you. 

Next to the body, a crude brown leather mask with a sown up mouth and strange mechanical straps across the eyes stares up at you, and a shiver runs down your spine. It’s like staring into the eyes of one of the Dread Doctors themselves. You nudge the thing sideways with your foot, and it falls comically to one side. That’s better. 

‘Hey, what is that?’ Theo asks. He kneels down next to the mask and picks it up, gazing into its eye sockets as if it might hold the mysteries of the universe within. Or the winning lottery numbers. Or the identity of the Beast. Any of those would be good. After a few seconds, he puts it down on one of the side cabinets and screws his face up in disgust.

‘Gross,’ you agree, turning away from it so that you can’t see it looking at you anymore. But you can still feel its empty gaze on your back, and you shake to try and rid yourself of the irrational feeling.

‘He really loves her, doesn’t he?’ Theo remarks. You look wistfully in the direction Stiles and Lydia headed, and slowly nod your head.

‘Yeah, he does. He really does.’

‘I didn’t think I’d ever feel love like that,’ Theo admits, and you turn back to him with a frown. ‘I’ve seen the way he looks at her; the way he acts around her. It’s like his entire world revolves around her, even when she’s not around. Everything he does, even if he doesn’t realise it, it’s all to do with keeping her safe, making sure she’s happy. Even if it’s not with him. He may be an ass, but that’s something to aspire to.’

‘You said didn’t,’ you observe, and Theo’s elusive smile returns. Three times in half an hour; that must be a record.

‘Yeah, I did. I didn’t think I would. Ever. I didn’t think love had any place in my life. Just power, and survival. Then I met you. You inspire me to try and be something better, you let me know that there’s room in my life for more than just those things. I’m not very good at it yet, but I’m trying to be better. I’ve learned a lot from you, your pack, your friends, Scott. The way Stiles acts around Lydia, that’s how I…I feel about you.’

You’re crying again, you realise with a sigh, but this time it’s tears of happiness rather than sorrow or anger, so these ones you don’t try to hide. You reach across to Theo, taking him in your arms and kissing him long and hard and full of passion. It’s a kiss of celebration, to celebrate your victory over Eichen House, your victory over the conditioning that the Dread Doctors have tried to ply Theo with for years that just now you’re managing to break, and a victory for love in general. Even in the midst of all this madness, with the Dread Doctors, Valack, and the Beast opposing you and your friends at every turn, you’ve managed to win here today, in more ways than one.

Theo returns your kiss with enthusiasm, and you’re almost prepared to do more, despite the disgusting operating theatre and the creepy mask watching you, but before it can go any further, he places a gentle hand on your chest and pushes you off.

‘Later. Let’s get out of here for now. We both have people we need to check on. Friends who might need our help.’ 

‘Why Mister Raeken, you’re learning after all,’ you tease with a grin, and then you dart out from his embrace, holding both his hands with your own as you drag him toward the door. The quicker you’re all out of here, the quicker you can get back to that celebration.

‘I’ll go find the others. You meet up with Scott, make sure Lydia’s okay. I’ll see you soon. I promise.’ You nod and disappear down the corridor the way Stiles took Lydia. Behind you, you don’t notice Theo slip back into the operating theatre and retrieve Valack’s primitive Dread Doctor mask for himself before retreating in the opposite direction.

****

The cool night air hits you like a welcome slap in the face; you’re finally outside, out of Eichen House, away from the horrors of Doctor Valack and the Closed Unit, and back with your friends. The tunnels ended in a ladder, at the top of which was a loose vent. A quick prod and the whole thing came away in your hands, and you found yourself on the street outside the asylum. A short distance away were your friends, crowded around Roscoe.

Unfortunately, you arrived to see Lydia once more in peril, this time at the hands of Tracey. You’d wondered where she got to. Josh and Corey can’t have found her since they’re nowhere to be seen and now she has Lydia by the throat, her Kanima claws pressing dangerously close to her carotid artery. Around you, Stiles, Scott, Malia, Liam, Kira, and Parrish are trying not to make any sudden movements. You lock eyes with Tracey and try to appeal to her wordlessly, but her gaze is fixed and she’s not giving any of you an inch.

Then a tremor runs through her body, and she collapses sideways, her arms limp at her sides and Lydia once more free. As Tracey topples and Lydia falls forwards into Stiles’ waiting arms, Natalie Martin, Lydia’s mother, stands revealed brandishing a cattle prod she must have retrieved from one of the fallen Eichen guards. The fury on her face scorches the air almost as much as Parrish’s flames, and her words brook no argument.

‘Could somebody please get my daughter out of this hellhole?’

Relief washes over you as Scott and Stiles bundle Lydia into the waiting Roscoe and drive off in the direction of the veterinary clinic. There’s still the small matter of the hole in Lydia’s head, but somehow you know that now she’s out of Eichen House, she’s going to be okay. Stiles and Scott won’t let anything happen to her, not anymore.

Mrs. Martin looks around at you all, her eyes lingering on the semi-naked and very ashy Parrish, who shrugs sheepishly. ‘I don’t even want to know,’ she says, rolling her eyes and walking away. She has a special skill for ignoring the supernatural, and you expect all of this will fall under her ‘Didn’t happen, not going to acknowledge it, so it’s not there’ filter that she seems to apply more and more frequently to the world around her.

That leaves you, Malia, Kira, Liam, and Parrish alone with Tracey’s unconscious body. Parrish leans over and plucks Tracey off the ground, his bare skin strikingly similar to Theo’s; you can see the muscles and tendons in his back and arms twitch as he lifts her almost effortlessly from the ground. Maybe you can sort of see why Lydia likes him, you admit to yourself. ‘I’ll get her home. And then I need about four showers, and more new shirts. I spend more on replacement clothes than on food these days,’ he admits sadly. ‘You guys going to be okay to get home?’ he asks, and then trudges off in the same direction as Mrs. Martin when you all nod at him.

‘Mission accomplished, right guys?’ you say, and you’re met with a round of smiles.

‘And did you have fun with your boyfriend while we were all risking our lives?’ Malia asks, half-joking, half-not. You feel yourself smile shyly, but you don’t answer, not directly.

‘Theo was a big help, you know? Without him, I don’t know if we would have found Lydia on our own. He’s not all bad.’

Malia snorts derisively. ‘He shot me. It’s going to take a lot to convince me he’s not a grade-A asshole.’

‘And he did kind of kill Scott,’ Kira adds, ‘That’s a big tick in the ‘no’ column too. No offense, Liam.’ Liam gives her a scathing look, then rolls his eyes. 

‘I’m gunna go find Mason. Then I’m getting away from here and never, ever coming back, unless it’s to knock the place down with a bulldozer.’ He also leaves, heading around the back of the building towards the electrical sheds that Mason was meant to find.

‘I know, I know. Theo’s not completely blameless,’ you admit to the two remaining members of your pack, ‘but it’s more complicated than that. You’ll see. Leave Theo to me, I’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else. I’m his light in the darkness, or something.’ As soon as you’ve said it, you know you’ve made a mistake as Malia laughs out loud, and even Kira grins slyly. You roll your eyes. ‘Never mind, forget it. Just let me deal with Theo, and I’ll make sure he proves himself to you. To all of us. He came here to get Lydia out of Eichen too; he was right, we’re on the same side.’

‘Yeah, maybe for now, but once he gets what he wants, who’s to say what he’ll do next?’ Malia says offhandedly. ‘C’mon Kira, I’ll give you a ride home, if you think I’m safe enough on the road. You need a ride?’ she asks you, but you shake your head. You’re going to walk home; it’ll help you clear your head of everything that happened today. You say your goodbyes, and walk away into the darkness, your feet on auto-pilot as your mind takes over.

Malia’s last comment about Theo is bothering you. You don’t believe her. You know you’re getting somewhere with him, you’re helping him, all of his pack too. Everything’s going to be alright. Especially now that Scott has managed to reunite you all.  
But that doesn’t stop you worrying. Once Theo gets his power, what will he do next? You know he’s been seduced by power before, and as much as you want to think you can change him, breaking years of the Dread Doctors’ conditioning in a few weeks sounds implausible too. Can you really trust that you’re helping him as much as he says you are?

Then it hits you. It doesn’t matter. You’re doing everything you can to help him. You love him with every fibre of your being, and if that’s not enough, then so be it. You can’t do anything else other than lead by example and try to be there for him by his side as he walks his path through the darkness and back into the light.

And when you get to the end of that path, you’ll meet the rest of your friends there too. Their faces flash through your mind now, helping to hammer home the fact that you’re back with each other once more. And then, unbidden, your other pack appears alongside them in your mind’s eye. 

Scott. Stiles. Malia. Kira. Lydia. Liam. Parrish. Mason.

Corey. Josh. Tracey. Hayden.

And Theo.

Tonight, together, you stopped Doctor Valack and you saved one of your own. And together, you’re going to stop the Beast. You’re going to stop the Dread Doctors. You’re going to save each other, and at the end of it all, you’re all going to be there, standing united in the light. After tonight, you know there’s nothing you can’t do.

Not if you work together.


	17. History Repeats Itself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during the events of Teen Wolf 5x17 - A Credible Threat

It’s been a whole day since you and the rest of your friends escaped Eichen House; one whole day without any supernatural craziness. No chimeras, no Dread Doctors, no Beast. You couldn’t even remember what a day like that felt like, to the point where you’ve been wandering around in a daze. You’ve done your homework. You’ve walked your dog. You’ve even watched some TV, which you hadn’t been able to enjoy for…months, maybe? It just doesn’t feel right at all.

Of course, most of those activities were just a delaying tactic, since you’d spent the entire day looking forward to that night. You’d woken up that morning to two text messages, one from Scott, and one from Theo.

 _Lydia’s going to be okay. Thanks for everything last night, I don’t know if everyone would have gotten out without you._ Scott’s sweet, if over-exaggerating a little. You didn’t really do anything much, just tagged along with Theo and made sure he and Stiles didn’t beat each other up. But still, getting that text had made your stomach flutter and your mom to ask why you had such a huge grin on your face after walking around looking like a dope for hours.

Of course, some of that could also be attributed to the other text you got; _8pm tonight. Something to show you._ Cryptic as ever, even by text message, that was Theo. So you’d spent the rest of the day pondering what on earth he could possibly want to show you. Maybe he’s finally ready to take you to the chimera pack’s hideout? But that’s not anywhere near as romantic as you’d like, so you push that thought right out the window.

The fact that Theo has managed to make all your cares about the Beast disappear, even if for a few hours, isn’t lost on you.

Eventually, 8 o’clock arrives. Right on time, the doorbell rings and you have an eerie sense of déjà vu, flashing back to your first (and so far only) proper date with Theo. And then the following day, everything had gone wrong when you discovered he was a chimera and he turned on everyone. But that can’t happen again, surely. All of his secrets, or almost all anyway, he’s shared with you. Hasn’t he? Of course you’ve spent all day thinking great thoughts and now that the moment has arrived, you’re ruining it. Typical.

You open the door, and Theo flashes you his winning smile. He’s dressed in Doc Martens, his trademark jeans, and a long-sleeve deep green t-shirt, tight in all the right places and accentuating his gorgeous arms, which are crossed in front of him in mock impatience. A light dusting of stubble lines his cheeks and jawline, and your heart hammers against your chest as you take in the sight of him. Not for the first time, you can’t work out what you did to deserve someone that looked like they walked off of a movie set and into your heart.

‘You going to make me wait out here all night?’ he asks, and you shake your head, dumbfounded. You step outside and shut the door behind you, any negative thoughts you had before banished by the sight of him. Theo climbs into the drivers’ side of his car, and you drop yourself into the passenger side. Curious, you glance at the back seat, but there’s no picnic basket this time; instead, there’s a bunch of flowers, a mixture of roses and lilies going by your limited flower knowledge. You pretend that you haven’t seen them, and Theo pulls the car away from the sidewalk and out into the dark.

‘Are you okay, after last night?’ Theo asks, shifting gears without paying attention and looking across at you as you answer.

‘Yeah, all things considered. I thought breaking into a supernatural insane asylum might make me lose some more sleep, but my head hit the pillow and that was it, I was gone. I think knowing my friends are together again, that Lydia’s out of danger, it’s the first time my mind was able to shut off properly in ages, you know?’

Theo nods, then says quietly, ‘I’m sorry Lydia was in there in the first place. I know that’s on me.’

‘You should really apologise to Lydia herself,’ you tell him matter-of-factly. ‘But her mom can have some of the blame too – as if one look at Eichen doesn’t tell you it’s a bad place to send your kids. After everything Malia and Stiles went through there, you’d think she’d know better. But Lydia’s out now, and she’s going to be okay; Scott texted me earlier to let me know.’

Theo looks visibly relieved, the tension in his shoulders gone and his grip on the steering wheel looser now. ‘That’s…that’s good. I’m glad you’re all okay.’

‘We’re getting there,’ you agree. ‘Now we just have to deal with the ten feet tall shadow monster and the three steampunk scientists that like experimenting on kids, and we’re all going to be great.’

‘You’re not wrong there,’ Theo says with a grin. ‘And hey, thank you again, okay? If you weren’t there with me, with us last night, I dunno if we would have found Lydia at all.’

You blush and brush his compliment aside the same way you did Scott’s earlier text. ‘I didn’t really do anything,’ you complain, ‘I was just kind of…there.’

‘That’s not true,’ Theo insists, ‘I told you before, you stopped to help Corey and Josh. You helped calm me down when I was being too rash with Stiles. I needed you, you know?’

You smile to yourself, but Theo’s looking back at the road again so he doesn’t see it, thankfully. Him thinking so highly of you makes you feel a little giddy. ‘So, where are we going?’ you try to ask nonchalantly, but fail miserably. Theo smirks, his eyes on the road, and puts his finger over his lips conspiratorially.

‘It’s a secret. I haven’t shown anyone this place, not on purpose anyway. But I think it’ll help you understand how I feel about certain things.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean? You’re the least straightforward person I know, Theo Raeken,’ you scowl, but his smirk intensifies and he refuses to answer any more questions for the rest of the drive.

****

‘If you’re planning on leaving me in the middle of the woods again, you can take me home right now,’ you warn Theo. You’ve been driving for a while and now you’re out in the back of beyond once again, Beacon Hills woods all around you, although this area looks a little more familiar than the mystery lake Theo took you to before.

‘Not this time, I promise. We’re here now, so soon all will be revealed,’ he says theatrically. He pulls the car onto the gravel out of the road and kills the engine. Reaching into the back seat, he grabs the bouquet of flowers and winks at you before climbing out of the car. You scrabble out too and follow him as he begins to walk through the woods with purpose, his boots crunching the twigs and dirt beneath his feet in a steady rhythm.

As you catch up with him, you slip your hand into his free one, the one that’s not holding the flowers. ‘I’m assuming those aren’t for me,’ you tease, trying to get some more information out of Theo, but he doesn’t fall for it, just shakes his head and then inclines it ahead of you. Now that you listen, you can hear a small river or stream trickling through the still night air, and when you follow Theo’s eye line, you see a wooden bridge constructed over a ditch.

‘Theo, is that…?’ you wonder, and he nods. Neither of you say anything further until you reach the bridge properly, your hands never leaving each other. Theo steps to the centre and leans on one side of the bridge, looking down into the slow moving water below, the flowers dangling dangerously loose from one hand.

‘This is where my sister died,’ he tells you. You tentatively step onto the bridge, not wanting to desecrate the memory of his sister, or break the stillness of the night by making the boards creak. You make your way to Theo’s side and lean in close to him, your arms just barely touching.

‘Stiles and Liam told me about this place,’ you tell him quietly, and he nods.

‘Yeah, they followed me out here a few weeks back, so I never really got to finish what I wanted to do out here. And then all the craziness started, so I haven’t had a chance to get back. But after what Stiles said yesterday in the tunnels, I wanted to show you this place, tell you how much it means to me.’

He’s still looking out wistfully across the water, not at you. The petals from one of the roses are falling slowly downwards, drifting lazily along with the water current when they hit the stream below.

‘You don’t need to explain yourself to me,’ you tell him. ‘You were a kid. You didn’t know what the Dread Doctors were asking, how wrong it was. But you know now, right? You’re not their puppet anymore. You’re working against them. We all are.’

Theo’s face twists with inner turmoil, and his voice is pained when he speaks again. ‘I know you’re right. Deep down, everything you’re saying makes sense. But it’s still my fault. I may not have torn her heart out myself, but I didn’t save my sister when I had the chance. She’s dead because of me.’

You reach out carefully and rest your fingers on Theo’s cheek, his stubble tickling your fingers. He doesn’t brush you off, but he still doesn’t look at you, his eyes somewhere off on the horizon, seeing memories of the past that you aren’t privy to.

‘That may be true. But she’d be proud of you, Theo. Of what you’re trying to do. Of the man you’re becoming. I’m sure she’d be happy to be a part of you. And she is, right? Not just because you’ve got her heart, but in spirit, too.’

Now Theo finally looks back, his eyes glistening at the edges with tears in the moonlight. ‘You think so?’ he asks, a lump in his throat.

‘I’m so proud of you, and I’ve only known you a few weeks. Look how far you’ve come. Yeah, you might not have taken all the right turns, but you’re doing good, in your own way. And I don’t think there’s anything more admirable than that.’ 

He reaches up to your hand on his cheek and covers it with his own, drawing your fingers to his lips where he gently kisses their tips, sending pleasurable tingles down your arm. ‘You always know what to say to me,’ he murmurs between kisses, ‘that’s your supernatural power.’

‘Less painful than fangs and claws,’ you admit, and he smiles over your hand at you, finally letting it drop from his mouth and intertwining his fingers with your own.

‘My sister would have liked you, I think,’ he tells you. ‘I wish you could have met her. I wish she hadn’t died. I wish…a lot of things.’

‘So do I. I wish I’d met you before. I wish I’d been able to help you years ago, when you needed it. But I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere. It sounds corny, but we’re all in this together, and even if I wasn’t there before, you’ve got me now.’

‘And I won’t let anything happen to you. I love you too much for that,’ he says, and for the first time since the whole fiasco with the Supermoon, you can tell he really, truly means it. And when you reply with the same sentiment, you mean it too.

Despite everything that’s happened. Despite everything you’ve been through. You really, really love him. And he loves you, too.

So of course, that’s when it all goes wrong.

Theo drops the bouquet into the stream, closes his eyes to say his goodbyes, and then watches the flowers slowly drift away into the distance. Then he turns back to you, pulling you close with one arm into a lopsided embrace.

‘What time is it? Do we still have time to go somewhere else? Somewhere a little less gloomy?’ he asks, sliding his cell phone out of his pocket. 

‘I like the sound of that,’ you agree as he glances at the phone; but he doesn’t have a good grip and the slippery plastic surface slides from his grasp, clattering onto the boards of the bridge and out of sight.

‘Dammit!’ Theo swears, ‘can you see where it went?’ He drops into a crouch, looking around and running his hands across the boards in search of his missing phone.

‘My eyes aren’t as good as yours,’ you remind him and pull your own cell phone out of your jacket. You flip the flashlight on, and shine it across the base of the bridge, but instead of Theo’s cell phone, what you find sends a chill down your spine, as if the Beast itself has just walked over your grave.

Since the Dread Doctors started leaving messages daubed in mercury around the town for the Beast, you’d downloaded a blacklight app for your phone’s flashlight so that you didn’t have to keep carrying around one of the portable ones Stiles’ ‘acquired’ from the police station; when you turn your flashlight on now, it’s the default setting.

So when you shine it onto Theo’s cell phone, hidden from view behind one of the support posts of the bridge, the mercury message scrawled into the boards stands out like a white-hot brand on your phone screen. You gasp involuntarily, and Theo looks up with a puzzled look on his face.

‘What is it?’ he asks, and you pick up his cell phone from the ground, hand it back to him, and then show him the picture you’ve taken on your phone. His puzzled look deepens into a frown, and then his eyes grow hard with anger.

Across the base of the bridge, written in large letters just as before, are the ever-familiar words ‘Damnatio Memoriae’.

‘Theo, we need to go. If the Dread Doctors think the Beast will come this way, we have to get out of here before it turns up,’ you warn him, grabbing his hand and trying to pull him away from the bridge and back towards his car, but he holds fast and doesn’t move.

As you turn back to shout at him, try to get him moving, you can see him concentrating, straining his supernatural hearing as he looks out behind you.

‘It’s too late,’ he says, and your shocked brain just about registers what he says next in a grave tone, his words stopping you in your tracks. ‘The Beast’s heading right for us; and it’s not alone.’

****

You barely have time to think, to take in what Theo has said before you hear them coming. Thunderous stomping noises, coupled with tree branches cracking and punctuated with a terrifying roar; a roar you’ve heard once before, back in the halls of the high school. Theo’s right – the Beast is on its way.

But he’s also right about it not being alone. As you follow the deafening sound of the roar, you see a flicker of light off in the distance, obscured by the trees but getting ever closer to the patch of darkness that’s advancing towards you both. You’ve seen that light before too – Parrish is right behind the Beast, his Hellhound flames bursting forth for all to see.

You turn to Theo quickly and gasp, ‘We have to go, come on, we’ll go through the trees, try and circle around them back to your car!’ But Theo’s eyes never leave the Beast, and he shakes his head.

‘No. We’re going to finish this, here and now. I may not have the claws I need, but I’m going to stop that thing before it hurts anyone else,’ he growls, and you see his face begin to shift as his werewolf features take over. Hair bursts across his cheeks, his eyes glow a blazing yellow, and his mouth twists into a sneer as fangs erupt from his gums. Gnashing them together, he flicks his fingers out to his sides, claws lengthening from the ends. His brow furrows, taking on the familiar animalistic edge to go with his pointy ears, and his transformation is complete.

'Theo, don’t be stupid, that thing will kill you! We have to get out of here, Parrish can fight it!’ You grab Theo’s hand again, careful not to grasp the claws too tightly and resume trying to pull him away, but he holds fast.

‘No. You go, I can’t let an opportunity like this get away,’ he snaps through his fangs.

‘I’m not leaving you here to die!’ you shout, giving one final tug on his arm, but when he refuses to move, you fix your eyes on him and clench your hands into fists. ‘Fine. If you don’t want to leave, then I’m not going either.’ You turn back towards the Beast, now only a hundred metres away, and stand side by side with Theo on the bridge, blocking its path.

A flicker of panic crosses Theo’s face – the Beast is nearly here, and you’re putting yourself in danger; there’s no time left for you to flee. His head swivels left and right as he tries to find somewhere you can hide, but there’s nothing but open woods as far as the eye can see on either side. His shoulders slump, and he seems to be resigned to letting you stay with him.

Then he slides forward, sweeping his arm into the back of your legs so that you collapse into him, and before you know what’s happened, he’s bundled you over the side of the bridge and down into the stream below, with a hurried whisper of ‘Hide until I tell you it’s safe!’, which is almost drowned out by the splash you make as you break the surface of the water.

The first thing you feel is cold, followed by shortness of breath. Like an enormous, freezing hand has gripped your entire body, squeezing the air from your lungs and making sure you can’t ever get any back. Your head reappears out of the stream, which is deeper than you thought from the bridge; your toes just barely touch the bottom, so you’re fighting to stay aloft as well as to breathe.

Ice permeates your entire body; your clothes are immediately drenched and begin to drag you down, but you kick carefully sideways, remembering Theo’s warning and sheltering yourself in the shadow of the bridge. You can’t see Theo standing above you, but you can hear the Beast’s footsteps, and it is now so close you can hear it breathing, too.

Holding what little breath you can muster, you strain your ears as best you can, trying to hear what’s happening above you. The footsteps have come to a halt; the Beast is right at the foot of the bridge, presumably facing Theo head on.

‘Come on then, you overgrown bastard,’ Theo says, his voice full of bravado. Wooden footsteps follow his taunt as he dashes across the bridge above you, no doubt attacking the Beast with all his might.

What follows is short and painful to listen to. Claws slash, clothes tear, the Beast howls, Theo shouts first in anger then in pain, and it’s all ended with one final thump as something hard hits the bridge above you. You can still hear the Beast panting, barely winded by Theo’s attack, and now it must be advancing for the kill. You don’t know what to do – do you try and distract the Beast and save Theo? Do you have any chance against that thing at all? 

Your hesitation only lasts a second, before you realise that the man you love is about to be gutted by a ten-foot-tall supernatural abomination. You take one small stride out from under the safety of the bridge, every movement sending needles of ice jabbing into your skin, before what looks like a nuclear bomb goes off above you.

Shielding your eyes, you stare up from your new vantage point to see Parrish in all his Hellhound glory standing at the end of the bridge. Theo’s body lies between him and the Beast; you’re not sure if he’s here to save Theo, or if that’s just a by-product of the Hellhound’s vendetta against the Beast. Either way, you know that if you go up there now, you’ll only get in the way and all three of you will be killed.

The flaming aura surrounding Parrish bursts outwards once again, illuminating the night like a white-hot star as he dives across Theo and into the Beast, and once more out of your line of sight. Another scuffle begins, this one full of the sound of sizzling hair and claws tearing into searing hot flesh. Neither seems to want to give an inch as they try to gain ground; you just hope they don’t step on Theo, because then he’d either be barbecued or flattened, depending on who did the stepping.

You giggle silently under your breath at that thought; the cold is dulling your mind, you can barely move now, and your entire hands are blue with chill, as are your lips, even with the flames of the Hellhound so close. You can barely hear the battle above you anymore, all your senses are failing. Tendrils of cold stroke your body, and all of your limbs feel heavy and even more difficult to move than before. 

You vaguely realise that this must have been what Theo’s sister felt like when she was dying. Darkness creeps in at the edge of your vision, and as unconsciousness takes you, your last thought is of the guilt Theo will feel at having killed two people on this bridge.

****

You dream, unsurprisingly, of Theo. Theo’s mouth on yours, his hands exploring every inch of your body, though he takes particular interest in your chest. In fact, he keeps pushing your chest, really hard. And he’s not kissing you at all, he’s…blowing into your mouth? That’s not very romantic, you think. This dream is weird.

Then you sit bolt upright, coughing up water all down the front of your jacket. Not that it matters; every inch of you is covered in ice cold stream water, and there are reeds wrapped up and down your jeans like beanstalks. You gasp for air, drawing in and out, a reassuring hand on your back that you realise is Theo himself, followed by the realisation that this wasn’t a dream after all.

When you finally have your breath back, you look over at him. He too is wringing wet, water dripping off of his clothes, a large leaf stuck to the top of his hair like a strange, lopsided hat. An enormous gash runs across his torso, tearing his shirt and slicing deep into his chest and abdomen. But despite his wound, he’s smiling at you, rubbing your back gently, almost absentmindedly.

‘I’d ask if you’re okay, but that’s kind of a silly question,’ he comments, and you smile weakly. 

‘What…’ you begin to ask, then start coughing again, bringing up what you hope is the last of the stream water.

‘What happened?’ Theo finishes for you, and you nod instead of speaking, scared you’ll bring up a frog or something next time. ‘You were right, that’s what happened. I couldn’t stop the Beast, the damn thing smashed me aside like a twig. I hit my head on one of the bridge posts, knocked me clean out. When I came to, I saw Parrish going after it, running across the other side of the bridge. I called your name, told you it was safe to come out, but when you didn’t reply, I…’

‘You jumped in and saved me.’

A guilty expression takes hold of Theo’s face as he nods. ‘I guess I did. Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-’ Not waiting for anything else, you fling your hands around his neck, holding him close in the tightest hug you can manage, any anger you could have had about being thrown into the river gone; it was the only way he could protect you from your own stubbornness. If you’d faced the Beast with him, you both would have been killed. This way, he protected you and made it easier for him to fight without worrying about you. 

The warmth of your two bodies pressed together helps alleviate some of the cold, and Theo returns the embrace, locking his arms behind you and resting his head on your shoulder. ‘This is nice,’ he murmurs, ‘but I think it’d be even nicer if we weren’t all wet. Let’s go back to my car, I’ve got some gym stuff you can wear in the trunk. Then we’ll get you home. I think this is enough excitement for one night.’

‘You’re probably right,’ you agree, ‘but just a little longer, okay?’ Theo mumbles something that sounds like a yes, and you squeeze him even tighter.

****

‘My arms are cramping up,’ you whisper, not wanting to break the moment although it has been going on for longer than you’d care to admit. ‘And I’m kinda cold now, too.’ The wetness of your clothes plus the chill of the night breeze isn’t making this any more comfortable either. Theo releases you reluctantly, stripping away the heat of his body and making you wrap your arms around yourself tightly.

‘C’mon, let’s get moving. Catch me?’ You get a glimpse of his smirk as he flees past you, arms pumping, and he catches your hand on his way, dragging you along with him. The momentum carries you forward, and before you know it you’re both tearing through the woods; you’re going as fast as you can, Theo easily staying slightly ahead just out of reach. You curse his supernatural advantages, not for the first time.

You both move through the trees with ease, the moonlight behind you ensuring you don’t trip over any tree roots or twist an ankle. It’s a casual pursuit, at least for Theo, since every time you think you’re closing in, he glances back over his shoulder, flashes that infuriating smirk and pulls ahead again, spurring you onwards.

By the time you reach his car you’re panting, out of breath, and dripping with sweat which mingles with the remnants of stream water in your clothes. But you’re definitely not cold anymore, that’s for sure. Theo is leaning easily on the hood, the smirk that you want to wipe of his face (possibly with kisses, but maybe with a punch. Maybe both) on his lips. You rest with both hands on Theo’s car to keep yourself steady, drawing in deep breaths that fill your lungs and rejuvenate you from the evening’s…activities.

Theo slips his arms around your waist from behind, his nose nuzzling your neck and taking away your hard earned breath in one easy motion. You tense as he draws in closer, pressing against your back to whisper into your ear. ‘Feeling better now?’

‘Yes!’ you gasp, leaning back into him. ‘What are you doing?’ You’re finding it hard to think with Theo so close, your heart already pumping from the run and the tip of Theo’s nose leaving tingling trails up and down your neck, his hands slowly making their way up your stomach.

‘Nearly getting killed, it’s kind of exciting, right?’ he whispers, exchanging his nose for his lips now, and you find yourself agreeing with him. 

‘Get me out of these clothes, and you’ll see how exciting it can be,’ you tell him with a wink, and his eyes flash with hunger. The chill of the night is completely forgotten, the Beast and the Hellhound long distant memories as Theo’s hands drop back to the hem of your t-shirt, pulling it up and over your head in a second. 

You twist in Theo’s arms so that you’re face to face, so close that the puffs of hot air that come out of your mouths intermingle as you gaze ravenously at each other. You mirror his movements, pulling his own soaking wet, skintight t-shirt off, revealing the body that you’ve admired from afar and only gotten to experience properly once before. 

He takes one of your hands, and gently places it over his heart, the thump of the blood coursing through his veins keenly felt with each beat. There’s no transplant scar, no sign that the heart beneath his ribs doesn’t belong to him. ‘This?’ he says, his voice barely a whisper, ‘this isn’t mine. But it’s not my sister’s now, either. She may have given it to me, and I know she didn’t want to, but it doesn’t belong to either of us anymore.

‘This heart? It belongs to you,’ he says, and the sentiment makes you smile so wide that you fear your face will shatter. ‘I love you. And I’m sorry I threw you under the bridge. I never wanted anyone to have to go through that again, least of all you.’

‘There’s a big difference this time though,’ you reply, tracing the line of his chest across, around his nipple, then down between the ridges of his stomach. You hear his sharp intake of breath as the chill of your fingers caress his abs, and he moves towards you, barely concealed desire in his eyes, but you stop him in his tracks, moving your hand back to his heart and holding him back firmly before he can do anything further.

‘Let me finish,’ you tell him, and his chest tenses as he holds his breath in anticipation. ‘This time, you saved me. You may not have saved your sister, but you saved me. I think that goes a long way towards redeeming yourself, at least to me. I love you, Theo. With all my heart.’

You place your other hand over your own heart, a physical connection between the two to match the emotional one. Theo’s hand leaves your hip, the warmth of his touch missed as soon as he does so, but it’s only to grab the handle of his car and fling the door wide open. You fall back easily onto the seat, and Theo helps you wriggle out of your jeans, now almost dry but still clinging to your body like a second skin.

Then he’s on top of you, his smiling face the only thing you can see; the moon, only a few nights away from full behind his head like a halo. Running your toes along his bare legs confirms that he’s taken off his own pants, the hairs tickling as you do so. He takes your hand in his and places it on his heart once more, before swooping down to kiss you.

The rest of the evening becomes a blur of movement, kisses and exploratory fingers running along every line of the other’s body. Ecstasy doesn’t even begin to describe what you feel, making love too tame a phrase to describe what you’re doing. As you continue, blood pounding in your ears, you think you can somehow feel both of your hearts beating in time; you’re probably imagining it, but it feels true, your pulse and his in sync, your bodies moving together in the same unspoken directions. 

It’s even more intense than the last time, now that there are no more secrets between you. All of your walls, all of Theo’s defences are down, and you can finally experience all of each other without anything being closed off. Theo’s deepest fears, his greatest traumas, you know it all, and he knows all of yours. Everything you’ve been through as part of the pack, all of the worries and insecurities you have, the betrayal you felt when his true motives came to light, it all stands revealed, and in these moments none of it matters at all.

Eventually the night must end, and the sun begins to rise, shining in through the rear window of the car onto your face. You crinkle your nose in displeasure, begrudgingly opening your eyes to see Theo in the front seat now, his pants loosely pulled up around his waist and his ruined shirt in his lap, both now dry. He looks back over his shoulder and smiles with his entire face. 

‘Good morning.’ You return his smile, rubbing the sleep from your eyes and catching the clothes he throws at you from the front seat where he must have collected them from the side of the road and around the car. You hastily dress as Theo pulls the car away and heads back towards the town, sliding into the front seat as he does so, pressing a quick kiss onto his waiting lips on the way past.

‘Last night was…’ you begin, unable to find the words, and Theo just shakes his head.

‘Yeah, you said it.’

‘Can you drop me off at home? I need to go get ready for school, and then there’s the charity lacrosse game tonight too. Will you be there?’ You’re through trying to be subtle, but it seems Theo’s not done avoiding your questions when he answers, ‘Are you asking me to be?’

‘I’d feel better if you were,’ you confess. Being on the stands while most of the pack is out on the field, you’d feel safer with Theo nearby, preferably right next to you if he can.

‘I’ll see what I can do. Look for me.’

All too soon, your house appears on the side of the road and your time with Theo is at an end. You reluctantly get out of the car, shutting the door behind you, but as you walk around it onto the sidewalk, Theo winds down the window and leans out towards you.

‘One more for the road?’ he asks, and you give him a stunning impression of his own smirk before leaning down for an intense kiss that leaves him looking dazed once you’re finished.

‘Wow. What’d I do to deserve that?’ he mock-wonders, and you just roll your eyes at him before waving and disappearing into the house. You shut the door behind you, replaying as much of the evening as you can remember in your head – the uneventful trip to the bridge, the appearance of the Beast, the deathly chill of the river, the heart-racing run back to the car, and then...what happened afterwards. The smile on your face makes your jaw ache, but it’s nowhere near enough to break your good mood, which lasts all throughout school that day.

The events that followed at the lacrosse game later that night however, are another story.


	18. Blinded By The Light No Longer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set during the events of Teen Wolf 5x18 - The Maid of Gevaudan

Peering out across the lacrosse field, you can almost convince yourself that everything’s okay. It’s all so familiar, it’s easy to think that there’s nothing wrong. The bleachers are full of unsuspecting teenagers, gathered for a good cause but with no idea that tonight their lives could end at the hands of an enormous supernatural monster. 

The green jerseys of Devonford Prep’s team are a stark contrast to the Beacon Hills Cyclones’ burgundy, the colours bright in the darkness thanks to the floodlights surrounding the field. You can see Scott, Stiles, Liam, and Kira all getting ready by the bench, pulling on their shinpads, checking the strings on their lacrosse rackets, and across the field, Brett and his teammates are doing the same.

Coach, freshly ‘liberated’ from his self-imposed rehab is marching backwards and forwards barking orders, catching up for lost time. So much for Scott’s plan to get Coach to throw the game – he’s far too stubborn, and now the game is on, and everyone’s in mortal danger unless you and the pack can stop the frequency that potentially triggers whichever poor unwilling teenager to transform into the Beast.

Everyone has their part to play tonight; Scott, Kira, and Liam are all going to try and give the rest of you enough time by making the game last as long as possible; Malia is on destruction duty, cutting the cables to the TV antennae on the roofs of the station vans so that the frequency can’t create the Beast; meanwhile Stiles will be checking the shoes of all the spectators, and Mason and Corey are going to be checking the Devonford Prep shoes in their van. Lydia and Parrish are trying to unlock his Hellhound side, with help from Chris and Gerard Argent, as a last resort. Which leaves you as the lookout. From up here in the bleachers, you can see everyone, and if it looks like something’s going to go wrong, you can call them and give them a heads up.

As you peer down at the lacrosse field, you see the back of Hayden’s head turn as she talks to Sidney, who’s sitting beside her. You can see her stealing glances at Liam when she thinks no one is looking, and you smile to yourself, glad that their relationship seems to be on the mend. It’s funny, you think, that the chimeras and your own pack are intermingling so much now. Hayden and Liam, Corey and Mason, you and Theo... It’s a peculiar sort of unity, especially since you’ve all been pretending to be at cross purposes since Theo resurrected them all.

What worries you however, as you spin your phone idly in your gloved hands, is that you haven’t seen any sign of Theo or the other chimeras at all. Tracey and Josh are nowhere to be seen, and despite Theo saying he’d be there, he hasn’t answered any of your texts, and neither Corey nor Hayden knew where he was when you asked them earlier. You bite your lip nervously, and then the whistle blows, the lacrosse ball flies up into the air, Stiles sneaks away from the substitute bench to begin checking shoes, and the match begins.

****

That inhuman roar, the one that sends chills down your spine and makes you want to curl into a ball and disappear out of sight forever, echoes out across the lacrosse field. The players stop in their tracks, the ball forgotten and everyone in the bleachers on their feet, searching for the source of the sound. You're already halfway down the steps before anyone else moves, and as you reach the bottom, you meet Stiles coming from the other way.

'Was that...?' you ask, already knowing and fearing the answer, and he nods gravely.

'Massive homocidal werewolf? I really hope not. But somehow I doubt our luck is anywhere near that good. C'mon.' He darts away down between the bleachers, you on his heels. Panic is just barely boiling under your skin, held in check mostly by the fact that if you succumb to it, you'll probably run into the Beast yourself and get murdered even quicker. 

You reach the end of the bleachers, opening out into the parking lot where the Devonford Prep bus and some of the student's cars are parked. Your eyes sweep the lot, looking for Mason and Corey before you realise that if they're there, you probably can't seem them anyway thanks to Corey's camouflage powers. 

And then your hands are clamped onto your ears once again as the Beast's roar bellows, an almost physical force that threatens to knock you off your feet. It's much, much louder this time; it must be nearby. Stiles grips his lacrosse racket, and you wish you'd thought to grab a weapon of some kind; hell of a lot of good it'd do you, but at least you'd feel better.

'Liam, no!' Stiles cries, and you whip around on your heel to see the teenage beta charging past you both at full speed. You follow him with your eyes, everything seeming to slow down as adrenaline floods your system and makes you hyper-aware of what's going on around you. As he passes you and Stiles, he plants his foot and springs off the concrete into the air. Looking past him, you see the hulking form of the Beast appear from behind one of the buses, black mercury spilling from its form like oily smoke.

The two have their claws extended, Liam's face twisted into a roar that you can barely hear over the Beast's own, and their arms are drawn back ready to strike. They clash in mid-air, the Beast's bulk making Liam look even smaller and insignificant in comparison, it's momentum taking over and bringing the pair of them crashing down.

Liam puts up a valiant fight, his claws swiping through the Beast's torso with reckless abandon, but none of his attacks seem to do any damage. In fact, the Beast almost seems to be smiling as it backhands him across the parking lot where he crashes into a car with a dreadful crunching noise. The front of his lacrosse jersey is sliced to ribbons, a frightening amount of blood pooling around him.

You gasp, and Stiles raises his lacrosse racket in anger, but as the Beast turns back towards you, its ice blue eyes piercing into your very soul, you know it's no use. If a werewolf can't hurt it, you and Stiles have no chance at all. But it seems uninterested in you, as if you're not even worth the challenge. Instead, it springs over your head, it's powerful legs launching it far higher than you'd have thought possible given its substantial size, and it disappears back towards the lacrosse field. Seconds later, screams are heard from everywhere at once, followed by a thunderous stampede of footsteps as everyone tries to flee from the monster.

You shake yourself free first, grabbing Stiles by the elbow as you drag him towards Liam. 'Stiles, move! We have to help him, I don't care how quick he heals, that thing really hurt him!' Stiles snaps out of it, a grim look of determination set on his face, and as you both cross the parking lot to Liam, footsteps from behind signal another arrival.

It must be Corey or Mason, you think, since they were in the parking lot before, but you look up instead to find Hayden, her face not sure if it wants to scream or cry. 'Oh my god, Liam!' she shouts, pushing both you and Stiles aside to get to the fallen werewolf.

Liam looks up sheepishly. ‘I’m fine, it’s just a scratch,’ he says weakly, trying to look like nothing's wrong but shattering the illusion by grimacing as his substantial wounds send waves of pain through him. On closer inspection, there are deep furrows torn into his chest and stomach, blood welling up from all of them and running down his front in crimson rivers.

'We have to get him inside,' Hayden says, 'in case that thing comes back to finish what it started, or the Dread Doctors turn up. Help me!' She's pleading and demanding at once, and both you and Stiles nod. Hayden grabs one arm whilst Stiles grabs the other, and you march ahead of the pair of them, making sure there's no one in their way, and no Beast in sight either. The screams from the lacrosse field have subsided, but there are still bursts of people running around aimlessly, trying to get to their cars or seeking refuge inside the school building.

You hope Scott and Kira are alright. When Kira was sent off after her outburst on the lacrosse field, Scott had followed her off the pitch to try and talk her down, and you hadn't seen either of them since. You guess that Malia failed; when she disappeared from near the TV trucks, you just thought she'd finished her job, but something must have happened to her too. And where are Corey and Mason? How has everything gone so wrong so quickly?

But there's one overriding thought that you can't shake, even as you push open the doors of the school and help your friends get the wounded Liam up the steps and hopefully safely inside. He promised he'd be here, and just when you could use his help, he's nowhere to be seen; where the hell is Theo?

****

You can hear the footsteps in the hallway, like cannon fire as the Beast's paws slam into the ground as it stalks the halls ofschool building. That thing; of all the evils you've faced with Scott and the pack over the years, this one is the purest - it has no motivation other than to kill, for sport, and for fun. For the taste of blood on its fangs, the warmth of it on its claws...

You shake your head, trying to rid yourself of the horrible thoughts. The four of you hold your breath as the footfalls pass you by, hoping not to attract the Beast's attention. Liam lays across one of the benches, his wounds now mending thanks to Hayden's intervention. She stands near to him, both her hands clasped over one of his own, holding him tight as if her touch can speed up the healing process as much as her kiss already has.

You and Stiles share a glance, knowing that there's nothing you can do to help anyone. The useless humans powerless once again. And there’s still no sign of Theo, god damn it. You quietly draw your cell phone out of your pocket and punch his number in again. it goes straight to voicemail, and you shove it back without leaving a message. Of all the times to go off the grid; Theo has the worst timing.

'I think it's gone,' Stiles whispers, crossing the room and pressing his ear against the door. A second later he nods emphatically. 'Yep, definitely gone. I hope. Please let it be gone. Is that too much to ask?' 

You look from him to Hayden and Liam, and then back again, making up your mind. 'I'm going out there,' you tell them all, fixing a determined frown on your face. 'Scott might need help, or Kira, and I haven't seen Malia either. Our friends need help, and we can't just sit here anymore.'

'Are you crazy?' Hayden asks, 'Liam's in no condition to be charging around with that thing out there, and what good are you going to be?' 

'Look, I may not have claws or fangs, and I can't shoot lightning out of my fingers or go invisible, but I’m tired of just sitting here!' You slam your hands down onto the bench for emphasis, and Stiles shushes you in a flailing of limbs. But he can’t contain your rage for too long – you couldn’t help Theo on the bridge the previous night against the Beast, but there’s no way you’re going to let Scott face it alone.

'Are you trying to get it to come back?' Stiles asks, shaking his head in disbelief. 'But, as much as I don’t want to admit it, you're right, you know. We can't just sit here when everyone else is out there with that thing.'

'You're both crazy,' Hayden replies dismissively, but Liam struggles into a sitting position, despite her trying to push him back down again.

'No, they're right,' he says through gritted teeth. 'I'm okay, we have to go help them.'

'But Liam...' she begins, but he shakes his head.

'We can't just leave them out there to die; Scott wouldn't do that to us, and we can't do it to him.' 

Gratitude wells up within you for your friends; you can understand Hayden's caution - dying once is enough, you think, and if you'd been resurrected, you doubt that you'd go rushing towards supernatural monstrosities that could kill you a second time either.

'Stiles, go back to the TV trucks, see if you can find Malia. Liam, can you and Hayden go back to the lacrosse field? Maybe they're in the locker rooms or something?'

Stiles and Liam nod, and Hayden follows, if reluctantly. Hayden helps Liam down from the bench, and as he stands, he carefully shrugs off her arm and stands up straight. He may not be back at full strength, but he's nearly there. Werewolf healing is a marvelous thing.

The four of you creep to the doorway and slip outside into the hallways. Mercury dots the floors in dark pools where the Beast has trodden, and there are claw marks on the lockers from its enormous talons. The school insurance premium must have gone through the roof recently, you vaguely think before heading off in the direction of the library, as your friends disappear in the opposite direction.

Somehow, everything seems to lead back to the library.

****

You push the library doors open, expecting them to be locked then remembering too late that the lock is still busted from all the previous times the library has been trashed recently. Flailing your arms wildly to remain balanced and feeling like Stiles when he’s off his Adderall, you suddenly realise that you’re not alone. You gaze around the library and spot some of your classmates, and other students from a variety of years all cowering behind the stacks, desperate to escape the Beast but also slaves to their curiosity, trying to catch a glimpse of the thing without it seeing them.

‘Are you all nuts? Let’s get out of here!’ you shout, but you’re met with a loud shush from pretty much everyone. They’re too frightened to leave now, and you know that nothing you can say will force them. Scott’s not here, and neither are any of your other friends or they would have made themselves known, so you turn back towards the door to leave. Maybe your hunch about the library was wrong. 

Of course, that’s when Scott tumbles through the library door with a crash, skidding across the floor and striking a table, dislodging some books in the process. He tries to stand shakily, and you dash to his side, helping him to his feet before his legs give out. Before you can ask, he gently pushes you to one side and puts his finger to his lips to quiet you down.

‘It’s coming. You need to get away,’ he whispers, then comes to the same realisation you did not seconds previously; you’re not alone. He looks around incredulously at the assembled students hiding, before resting his eyes back on you. ‘You need to get them all out of here!’

‘I tried! They’re too scared to move!’ you whisper back, and Scott shakes his head. He opens his mouth to speak again, but is silenced by the roar of the Beast, so close it has to be just outside the room. Involuntary whimpers reach your ears from your peers, and Scott’s eyes fill with panic.

‘Get everyone upstairs, now.’ He casts his gaze back around the room at everyone else, meeting each of their eyes to try and impress upon them the danger that’s literally outside the door. ‘Go!’ 

You nod, and begin ushering people up the stairs, no one having any difficulty moving now that the Beast is seconds away from murdering them. When the last of them is safely upstairs you follow suit, making sure you’re positioned so that you can see Scott; maybe you’ll be able to help in some way. It’s unlikely, and you’re not sure how, but there has to be something…

He turns towards the door nearest the sound, draws back his shoulders and extends his claws, every inch of him ready for a fight. Around you, you can feel the tension in the air and in the others hiding with you, everyone holding their breath. Suddenly the doors fling open, the Beast’s massive arms shoving them against the wall so hard that they leave twin indentations. It marches into the library proper and fixes its greedy stare on Scott – the next victim on its ever-growing list.

From your vantage point you can see Scott’s face; his eyes glow a blazing red, his fangs extended as he roars back in defiance. The next thing you know, he’s leapt at the creature, and the battle begins in earnest.

As you watch your alpha, one of your best friends, tearing into the flesh of the Beast with his claws, ducking and dodging its strikes just barely, you’re aware of everyone around you staring down intently too. You’re not sure if they realise what’s going on at all. They must know that something in Beacon Hills isn’t right – there are too many unexplained occurrences happening around them to just dismiss them all as rumours and animal attacks.

But do they realise that there are werewolves in their midst? Surely with Scott fighting in full alpha mode in front of them, they can’t deny the existence of the supernatural any longer? And can they distinguish between the evil of the Beast and the courage and pure, undiluted goodness that Scott embodies, or are they both just monsters to them? Surely they can see that even though both Scott and the Beast aren’t your usual humans, one is there to help, and the other to harm? 

Scott isn’t doing very well; the Beast’s blows are backed by its enormous bulk and thickly muscled limbs so no matter how strong he is it’s always going to be stronger. Every hit Scott lands barely fazes the monster, but every blow that the Beast connects causes Scott almost lethal damage, as well as causing him to stagger back and evade. There’s already blood collecting on the side of Scott’s head and dripping down his face, as well as coating one of his arms.  
The students around you seem to have come to the realisation that if Scott loses, they’re going to die, and there’s nothing they can do about it. That fear is almost palpable, a chill mist in the air that seeps around you into your bones, making you want to give in to despair. But this is Scott McCall you’re talking about. You’ve said it before; if anyone can keep you all safe, Scott will do it.

Scott, who is so selfless that he’ll go out of his way to help anyone, no matter who they are, even people that may not deserve it. He helped Deucalion, even though he killed some of Derek’s pack. He promised to help Theo, and Theo killed Scott himself, for crying out loud. There isn’t a single selfish bone in Scott’s body, and that, coupled with his determination to save everyone around him no matter what the cost to himself is what makes you realise something that sends that mist of despair retreating to the far corners of your mind.

You have hope.

Scott won’t let you down. He’ll fight to the very end, and he’ll find a way to win. You think back to all he’s accomplished recently; even when the Dread Doctors were winning, when teenagers were turning up dead all over the town, he never gave up. He helped everyone he could, to the absolute best of his ability. He brought you all back together, staged a break-in on Eichen House that could have gone wrong in so many ways, but it was worth it to reunite you all once again. And he was the only one that could have done it.

Because he’s Scott McCall.

The thoughts come like a rush and a smile brightens your face, which you turn and share with the person sitting nearest you. They look puzzled, but you whisper as softly as you can, ‘Scott won’t let us down. It’ll all be alright, I promise.’ They raise their eyebrows, but there must be something sincere about your face, because the next thing you know, they’re smiling too. They turn to the person next to them, the message spreading down the line, and before you know it, the entire group of students that were cowering for their lives not seconds before are grinning stupidly down at the fight going on below.

The Beast lands another lucky shot, this time throwing Scott against the steps leading up to the massive library window with such force that books all around the room drop to the floor from their shelves. Scott winces in pain, but he turns back to face the Beast, a defiance etched into every line of his face and his fangs gritted tightly together. 

Sometime while you were watching the fight unfold beneath you, your hand has found a very large, very heavy book. Your fingers grip it tightly, and you lean forward over the railing of the library’s upper floor. You’re not sure whether this will help at all, but at the very least you could distract the Beast long enough for Scott to get away. Maybe. Or maybe it’ll swat the book aside, kill Scott, then come and eat you too. But like you told Stiles, you can’t just sit here and do nothing anymore.

The Beast closes in, and you draw back your arm to throw the massive book at its head. Then footsteps reach your ears from beyond the library doors, and there’s no need for you to join in at all, because the cavalry has arrived, and it’s got much more dangerous weapons than a heavy library book.

Liam, now almost fully recovered, comes flying through the doorway, leaping over a table with his hands clenched together, delivering a two-fisted punch to the Beast’s face as it turns back to see what’s going on behind it, momentarily distracted from Scott. He lands with a crash next to the steps, and Scott is already rolling towards him to make sure he’s okay as the Beast shakes off its irritation at being punched in the face.

But before it can recover completely, two other familiar faces burst into the room – Braeden brandishing one of her favoured shotguns, unloading round after round into the Beast’s back, flanked by Malia, her own fangs extended and eyes a crystal blue in the darkness. Braeden’s hail of bullets staggers the monster even further, and it turns away from her onslaught to retreat the only way it knows how – straight through the massive library window and out into the darkness.

Its footsteps fade away as you rush down the stairs to join your friends; the other hiding students seem to know subconsciously that they’re not to interfere in pack business since no one else moves. Liam and Malia are at Scott’s side in a second, helping him to his feet. 

‘I gotta get me one of those,’ you say to Braeden, and she gives you a wry smile. ‘I was almost ready to start throwing books at it when you guys showed up.’

‘You didn’t really think you stood a chance against that thing, did you?’ Braeden asks Scott incredulously, and he shrugs his shoulders. He’s clutching his side, his broken bones already on the mend as he replies.

‘No…’ he begins, and you think how brave it is for him to admit something like that to himself and to everyone around him. Then his eyes sweep to the broken window and he reignites that spark of hope with one final sentence. ‘But I’ve got its scent.’

‘You mean you can track it?’ Braeden asks, and Scott nods, eliciting another wince of pain as he does so. Liam helps Scott onto the stairs to rest for a second, and you climb up behind them to gaze out of the broken window. From here, you have a clear view of the parking lot in front of the school, but of course there’s no sign of the Beast. What you do see however is a shape crossing the lot quickly and carefully; a very familiar shape.

‘Guys, I’ll be back soon. Scott, try not to do anything stupid?’ you warn as you descend the steps two at a time and head toward the door.

‘No promises,’ he says through gritted teeth, ‘where are you going?’

‘Something I need to check out. Don’t worry, if I see the Beast, I’ll tell it that you said it smells funny, and you know where it lives.’ Humour seems appropriate, since your mind is focused on what you just saw instead of where the Beast could possibly be now. If it has any sense, it’s probably turned back into a human to blend in with the crowds – and that’s exactly what Scott needs, so he can find out definitively which of your classmates is underneath the mercury smoke and the gigantic fangs.  
But you know for sure that the person you just saw running across the parking lot definitely isn’t the Beast; you’d been with him when you saw the Beast for the first time, and he’d better have some pretty good explanations for why he’s been ignoring your texts and calls all evening, especially when you could have used his help and support.

If the Beast didn’t kill Theo, you might just do it first.

****

From the direction Theo was heading before, you have a good feeling you know where he’s going which means you can cut him off before he gets there. You run through the halls of the school as fast as you can without causing a panic in the rest of the students, who seem to have calmed down now that the Beast has stopped roaring and stalking them all.

Pushing past Coach Finstock, who’s wandering the halls wondering why he ever came back to Beacon Hills High, you shove open an outside door just in time to see Theo set foot on the road leading out of the school grounds. His back is to you, but he must know you’re coming; he’s almost impossible to sneak up on. Not that you’re trying to sneak up on him, since you open your mouth and do your best Lydia impression, bellowing Theo’s name at the top of your lungs.

His head snaps around quickly, followed by the rest of him, and a smile begins to sprout on his lips as you approach. Once you’re close enough, he opens his mouth to speak but you don’t even give him a chance. You know what you’re about to do is foolish, since it’ll probably hurt you more than it’ll hurt him, but it seems appropriate, and you can’t seem to stop yourself.

You draw back your arm and punch Theo right in the jaw as hard as you possibly can. He’s not prepared for the move from you and actually staggers. One hand flies to his lip and comes away bloody. Pity wells up in your chest, but you tamp it down with anger as Theo looks at his bloodstained fingers and then back up to you. Instead of confusion, his face is fixed in an angry glare, one you’ve never seen aimed at you before.

‘What the hell was that for?’ he snarls, dabbing at his lip again and wincing.

‘The fact that you don’t even know pretty much says it all, doesn’t it?’ you snipe back.

‘I have no idea what you’re talking about,’ he replies. ‘Now if you’re done punching me in the face, I’m in the middle of something. We can finish this later.’

He turns to go, but you dash around him before he can take a step, blocking his path. ‘Oh no you don’t. We’re doing this now!’

Theo’s anger is visible on his face now, his jaw set and lines furrowing his forehead. He’s never looked so unattractive to you, which is a shock to the system.

‘I don’t have time for this, it’s getting away!’

‘I don’t care!’ you shout. ‘Are you so consumed by chasing the Beast that you forgot all about me? Where were you tonight, Theo? I called you, I texted you like a hundred times, and I didn’t even get a single reply.’ You can feel your voice cracking, but you’re determined not to cry. You may not have stuck to your vow about not crying in front of Theo, but he’s not getting the satisfaction of seeing it this time; you’re far too angry to let him win even a minor victory over you.

‘I could have died tonight, Theo,’ you sigh, your arms slumping to your side in disappointment. ‘The Beast was rampaging through the school, it nearly killed Scott and the rest of my friends. I was literally six feet above it, all it had to do was look up and I would have been dead. You told me to look for you tonight, and I didn’t see you once.’

Theo shakes his head in disbelief, and begins what you assume will be his apology. You’re wrong.

‘I was tracking it myself; I turned my phone off because I knew if it heard me at all, I’d never catch it if it ran away. I was on my way here, since all the teenagers together gave me the best chance of finding it, and I heard that noise from the TV trucks. After that, I saw it in the parking lot, fighting with Liam, and as soon as it ran away, I went after it.’

‘So you were literally in the same parking lot as me and you didn’t even stop to see if I was alright? Liam could have died!’ You knew Theo wanted to stop the Beast, but to have it blinker him from the rest of his pack, from you, it doesn’t make sense.

‘I couldn’t just let it go. This was my best chance in ages. I lost it when it attacked Scott, I had to hang back in case they saw me, so I ended up back outside where I saw it break through the library window.’

‘Let me get this right,’ you begin, in what you hope is a biting tone. ‘Not only did you ignore me and my friends when we needed help, you didn’t bother helping Scott when he was fighting the Beast, and you’re now happy to just ignore me some more to chase a monster that could kill you, just so you can steal its power?’

‘You know it’s not like that!’ Theo says, throwing his hands up in despair. ‘I need its power to protect you all, I’ve told you this before. I’m not proud of what I have to do, but I will do it. I won’t let the Beast get away again. And you’re not going to stop me.’ His face is stern, brooking no further argument.

You can feel your lip curling in disgust; you thought Theo was better than this. You’d convinced yourself he was, let yourself forgive him for a lot of things. But his lust for power, his need to kill the Beast, even if it comes with the best intentions, it’s putting you all in danger. You turn on your heel without another word and walk back towards the school. If Theo is the man you think he is, you hope he’ll stop you.

But you open the door to now deserted hallways and turn back to where Theo was standing before, only to see an empty space. He’s gone. 

Your hands clench into fists, and the pains that you were feeling in your chest while you were talking all come bubbling to the surface like a volcano of emotions. You feel yourself slide down the wall until you’re sitting on the floor, head in your hands, deep breaths and wracking sobs shaking your body.

Was his lust for power stronger than his love for you? Did Theo even care about you at all? If the Beast had hurt you, or worse, would he have even batted an eyelid?

How could you have been so wrong about him?

‘Hey.’

You look up, blinking away tears, and Scott’s standing above you. He’s still battered and bloody, but he’s already on the mend, you can tell, and there’s a smile on his face which you do your best to return.

‘Hi Scott,’ you say, and he slides down the wall to sit beside you, gingerly holding his wounded side. ‘I’m okay, don’t worry about me. Did you find the Beast?’

‘As if I don’t worry about you. I worry about all of you. Now, what’s wrong? We can talk about the Beast later.’ His compassionate eyes and his comforting presence help you stop crying. Theo’s not worth the tears, if he’s not the man you thought he was. You tell Scott about what you saw from the library window, and your conversation with Theo, and he doesn’t speak at all while you’re talking, just lends you his strength with his hand on your shoulder when it gets too painful to continue.

‘So I don’t even know where I stand anymore. I love him. Or I thought I did. And I thought he loved me too. But tonight just throws that all out the window and stomps on it.’

‘Theo’s a complicated guy,’ Scott admits. ‘I don’t think he even knows what he’s feeling most of the time. But you’re right; the way he treated you tonight, that’s not right at all. But I don’t like the fact you didn’t think the rest of us would be able to protect you.’

‘That’s not it at all!’ you say hurriedly, disappointed that you’ve given your pack the wrong impression. ‘I knew you were following the plan, so I didn’t want you to worry about me, which you wouldn’t have to do if I had someone to look out for me. I trust you Scott, I trust all of our friends. I just thought I could trust Theo too. But…I guess not.’ 

You bite your lip in worry, thoughts flying round your head like flies on a bug-light, every now and then zapping into oblivion and making you worry even more. ‘Now, did you find the Beast or not?’

‘Yeah, about that.’ Scott looks somewhere between sheepish and ashamed as he tells you about the Beast’s true identity, and the fact that he lost Mason as soon as they realised who he really was.

‘So now we know who the Beast is, but we don’t know where he is. Liam’s already on the trail, but there’s not much the rest of us can do alone. I need to heal, and then tomorrow we can start again. We just have to hope Corey can keep Mason safe for tonight,’ he finishes, and you nod.

‘Where do we start?’ 

Scott starts to protest, probably something about you having been through enough tonight, but you’re not having any of it. Theo’s awful behaviour isn’t going to stop you from helping your friends, so you and Scott both pick yourself up off the floor and head outside.

As the two of you head towards your friends who have congregated outside to work out who’s going where and with whom, you look at Scott quickly from the side, once more amazed at how selfless a person he is. After all he’s been through tonight, he’s the one that was going to get you to sit out the search; after all he’s done for you, he’s more worried about your stupid feelings about Theo than stopping the Beast.

Scott McCall is an amazing human being. An amazing werewolf. An amazing alpha. And you’re so privileged to have him as one of your best friends. You feel awful for ever doubting him, and resolve to never do it again. 

You recently had grown to think that Theo would be the only one capable of stopping the Beast and saving you all, but now you’re certain that that isn’t the case. If anyone can save you all, including Mason, from the Beast and the Dread Doctors’ final master plan, it’ll be Scott McCall.

You also think about the promise Scott made you, right after Theo had killed him and he came back to life. You’d asked him to save Theo, if he could. But after tonight, maybe Theo wouldn’t be able to be saved after all. 

From the Beast, and from the Dread Doctors? Maybe.

But from himself? That one, you’re not quite so sure of.


	19. Threads Unravel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set during the events of Teen Wolf 5x19 - The Beast of Beacon Hills

One sleepless night later and you’re walking up the path to Scott’s house, but all you can think about is what transpired between you and Theo last night. With all the craziness going on, the fact that you now finally know who the Beast is and how close you all were to stopping it and saving Mason from the Dread Doctors, coupled with Mason and Corey’s disappearance have all fallen to the wayside. Instead, Theo occupies your thoughts, and you feel ashamed because of it.

Questions whizz around your head like bullets in a hailstorm, each one deadly and dangerous to your already fragile state of mind. How much of what Theo has said to you in the past few weeks has been a lie? Was it all just convenient for him? Did he ever love you at all? It’s not the first time you’ve asked yourself some of these. And there’s one especially that you thought you’d gotten over the last time Theo betrayed you - have you been a complete fool this whole time?

You find Scott’s front door unlocked and make your way through to the kitchen where everyone else has already assembled to plan the next move; with Mason in the wind, you’re all going to try your best to find him before Theo or the Dread Doctors do. You slip into the discussion easily enough, floating potential ideas for where Mason might have gone. Eventually, Scott catches your eye across the kitchen table and you raise a questioning eyebrow.

‘Are you okay?’ he mouths at you. Your conversation from the day before must have been playing on his mind as much as yours, but you nod slightly to ease his worry. He gives you a small smile and a knowing glance, but doesn’t push any further. 

Liam sees you and Scott exchanging silent conversation and decides to intervene. ‘Hey, have you heard from Theo at all? You two are tight, right?’ It’s an innocent question, but Liam doesn’t realise what happened between you last night; you sigh and shake your head.

‘No, I haven’t. Theo and I…aren’t talking at the moment. We kind of had a fight last night.’ Liam’s eyebrows shoot so far up his forehead you think they’re going to eject off of the top of his head.

‘Uh…sorry? I didn’t even know he was there last night; I didn’t see him.’ He’s not sure how to react, and you fill him in before he gets the urge to put his foot even further in his mouth.

‘It’s okay. I found him after you and Scott went off to track the Beast. Turns out, he was there the whole time and just left us all to the Beast. No help, no warnings, no nothing.’

‘You expected anything else?’ Malia asks, sarcasm and anger mixing in her voice; she’s still annoyed that Theo shot her, understandably.

‘I thought I was getting through to him,’ you admit, ‘I really did. I thought we were getting closer, that he’d started to come around to our way of thinking. But apparently, killing the Beast and stealing its power means more to him than anything that happened between us.’

Liam shrugs his shoulders, not sure what to say. The poor guy’s having his own chimera romance troubles with Hayden, he doesn’t know how to react to yours. Instead, he wisely redirects the conversation back to the matter at hand. ‘So, uh, where else can we look?’

‘Let’s ask Corey,’ Scott says nonchalantly, before reaching back towards one of the bookcases on the wall and gripping the front of an invisible t-shirt. He pulls forward and the camouflage drops, revealing Corey himself looking shocked and confused and above all, scared. But it’s not a fear for himself. 

‘Wait! Wait! It's not my fault! They took him and, and I couldn't do anything!’ he says, the words coming out as fast as he can manage them.

‘Who?’ Scott asks, releasing Corey’s shirt from his grip, and Corey’s face falls even further as he admits what you’d all feared.

‘The Dread Doctors.’

‘Great. That’s just perfect. Now the Doctors have the Beast, and we’re all screwed,’ Malia says, slamming her hands on the table. But as you look around at the others, frustration and despair taking hold on their faces, you feel your brow furrow as you realise something. Despite everything, Corey might have told you exactly what you needed to know.

‘Actually guys, this is great!’ Liam looks at you in disbelief, opening his mouth to shout at you for suggesting losing Mason was a good thing, but Scott cuts across him first.

‘Go on. What’d you mean?’

You take a breath to organise your thoughts, then address the group’s now quizzical looks (except Liam, who just looks disgruntled at having his anger overridden by Scott’s cooler head).

‘Well, we can’t seem to find Mason. He could be anywhere, right? We know where he might turn up, but we have no guarantees that he’d appear at any of the usual places, like the school or something. But if the Dread Doctors have him, that narrows down the search a lot, there’s only so many places that they can be.’

‘You’re right,’ Kira says, a smile brightening her mood as the implications of what you’ve said sink in. 

‘So we just need to find the Dread Doctors?’ Liam asks, but his tone of voice suggests that he doesn’t think it’ll be that easy. And it won’t – but it’s a much better start than just trying to track down a teenager that could be anywhere.

‘That’s not going to be easy either,’ Stiles says, voicing what you were just thinking. You don’t like the next part of your plan at all, probably moreso than everyone else, but you close your eyes to avoid everyone’s looks of judgement as you finish your thought.

‘No, it won’t. But we all know someone who can track the Dread Doctors; or at least knows the most likely places they’ll be.’

‘Theo,’ Scott states. It’s a flat statement, no emotion at all. Getting in bed with what everyone else mostly considers ‘the enemy’ isn’t something anyone wants to do (except you apparently, since you’ve done it more than once in the more literal sense), but Scott at least can see that you’re all running out of options. If the Dread Doctors have Mason, then there’s only a short time before he’ll succumb to their experiments and become the Beast forever, and he won’t allow that to happen.

‘But we don’t know where he is either, and if he hasn’t spoken to you, how can we track him down? We’re back to square one,’ Kira says, her face falling again.

You open your eyes now and look past everyone at the table to the one person who can help you here. ‘We don’t know where Mason is. The Dread Doctors have him. But we don’t know where the Dread Doctors are either. Theo knows where the Dread Doctors are. But we don’t know where Theo is. That’s all true. We don’t know where Theo is – but Corey does.’

Everyone turns to Corey, and his already concerned look spreads from his eyes to the entirety of his face, his mouth drooping at the sides like he’s trying not to scream or cry. 

‘Corey, I know it’s hard. I know you’re scared of Theo. But this is Mason. We want to find him just as much as you do, and we’re not going to stop until we do. If you don’t want to tell us, we won’t make you-’

‘I might,’ Malia pipes up, but you ignore her and continue on.

‘We won’t make you. But if you do, this will go a hell of a lot quicker, and the chances of us finding Mason before something worse happens to him swing in our favour. So, where do we find Theo?’

Corey avoids your eyes and he gulps comically, but his shoulders are resigned, so you can already tell he’ll give you what you need to know. Looking at a spot on the table in front of him and not at anyone, he opens his mouth to speak.

‘If you can protect me, then I’ll tell you,’ he says, and Scott quickly nods.

‘There’s always room for one more in this pack,’ he says in his warmest voice, and Corey looks up finally with an appreciative smile.  
‘Okay. You guys are nicer than Theo anyway. I’ll tell you.’

****

The familiar stench of stale water and chemicals burns your nose as you push open the door to one of the Dread Doctors’ old operating theatres. It’s almost a dramatic entrance, since the doorway leads onto a small landing above the rest of the room, instantly making you the centre of attention as you look down at those assembled below you. A small staircase sits off to your right leading down to the main area; a few discarded operating tables lay dotted around the room, and a particularly gruesome looking machine full of greenish yellow liquid pumps up and down in one corner.

Theo leans on one of the tables and looks up, the only sign of surprise on his face a small crease between his eyes. You wish he hadn’t worn that tight black sweatshirt because his arms are distracting enough without it’s help. But you’re not here to reconcile with Theo; you have pack business, and you’re not going to let him distract you, beautiful arms or otherwise.

Tracey is off to one side, her eyes hooded and expression unreadable. Josh is nowhere to be seen, which you find particularly odd; he’s barely left Theo’s side since he was resurrected; you file that away to think about after. The table in the centre of the room holds the mask from the operating theatre Doctor Valack took Lydia to when you all broke her out of Eichen House; it’s a perverse centrepiece, but you can’t seem to draw your eyes away from it. 

The most surprising person in the room however stands directly below you. A familiar red-tipped cane leans next to him, and he looks up at you as you enter, a cat-like smile on his face and red-flooded eyes staring at you as if he can see despite his blindness.

‘Well, well, well. An envoy from the McCall pack?’ Deucalion asks in his gravelly voice. You try to look strong but inside you’re shaking. Considering the last time you saw him you shoved a flashbang grenade in his face, you don’t think you’re being too cautious by being slightly wary of him.

‘That’s me,’ you say. Your fists are clenched at your sides, your fingernails digging into the skin of your palms. Your eyes can’t seem to settle on Deucalion, the mask, or Theo, and your lack of focus is making your head spin.

‘How did you find us?’ Theo asks, and your dizziness instantly passes as his voice cuts through the haze. He’s actually paying attention to you now? You fight the urge to shout at him and just settle for giving him a glare. You pride yourself on the fact that it’s the glare he used to love about you, the one he so wanted to feel protected by. But after his last few day’s actions, he doesn’t deserve your protection.

‘Mutual friend.’ You try to be nonchalant, but Theo reads more into your face than you thought.

‘Corey.’ It’s not a question.

‘Where’s Josh? You don’t usually let him out of your sight.’ You’re determined to fight Theo at his own game of deflections and word-fencing, so you try to put him on the back foot. Oddly enough, it works. Maybe Deucalion’s presence is just as off-putting for Theo as it is for you.

‘He’s not important right now.’

‘Oh come now Theo, surely you’re not ashamed of what you did,’ Deucalion interjects. What he did? Surely Deucalion doesn’t mean…One look at Theo and you can tell he does – Theo has killed Josh. He killed a member of his own pack. The shock makes you take a step back, and you feel the coolness of the wall behind you; there’s no room to back away. It’s either out of the door or down into the pit of chimeras and blind alphas.

‘He’s not important right now,’ Theo repeats, grinding his teeth and shooting Deucalion a look that’s not so much daggers as swords. ‘What’re you doing here?’

‘That’s a nice way to talk to someone you’re supposed to love, Theo. No wonder your pack’s in disarray.’ Deucalion’s honeyed words are working in your favour; he’s giving you lots of information in a short amount of time, and there’s nothing Theo can do about it. But why would he be helping you? Does he not realise what he’s doing?

Theo bangs his fist on the table in front of him. ‘Shut up Deucalion!’ he snaps, losing his usual controlled demeanour. ‘Now, for the last time, what’re you doing here?’

You drag your eyes away from Deucalion, who’s grinning like the Cheshire Cat at you, to look directly at Theo. The rest of the room falls away, Deucalion, Tracey, the mask, all drifting out of your field of vision as you look at Theo and Theo alone, searching his face for his true feelings, seeing if you can tell exactly who he is anymore, trying to find out if anything you thought about him is true.

‘Scott needs your help. He thought you’d be more likely to talk to me, so he sent me with a message. He wants to meet – he knows you’re trying to find the Beast, and he thinks that the only way any of us are going to find him is together. So will you meet with him?’ Your voice isn’t trembling by the time you finish, but Theo’s face remained impassive as you spoke, so you’re not sure how he took it.

He smirks in amusement; whether it’s at your discomfort or Scott’s plea for help, you can’t tell. Instead he simply nods and agrees, giving you a time and a place for Scott to meet with him. You turn to leave, your mission complete, then stop. You know you shouldn’t, but you can’t help yourself.

‘Theo, what’s going on? I thought we were getting somewhere, but you’re right back to your old self again. Talk to me, please.’ This time, your voice is breaking by the time you finish. You fix Theo with a pleading look, no longer a glare but one of sorrow at the thought of losing what you’d fought so hard to gain with him.

‘Now’s not really the best time for this, is it?’ Theo says. There’s no venom in his voice, but there’s no compassion either. ‘We have more important things to be dealing with.’

‘More important things. Right. But this isn’t over. I’m not giving up on you that easily.’ 

As you leave, you catch Deucalion’s eye and despite the fact you know he’s blind, you could swear he gives you a wink, a wink that no one else in the room can see, as the door slams shut behind you.

****

The moon rises above the treeline ahead of you, illuminating the path ahead and helping you keep your footing as you trudge through Beacon Hills woods yet again. Only this time it’s nowhere near as romantic as before. Ahead of you are Scott, Liam, and Theo; the four of you have combined Theo’s knowledge of the Dread Doctors with the map of the telluric currents and settled on a likely location for their newest hideaway – and hopefully the place where they’re holding Mason.

The air is super-charged with tension, even more than ever before. Liam doesn’t trust Theo as far as he could throw him; Theo doesn’t seem to trust either of them; Scott’s stuck in the middle between them, and you’re at a complete loss as to how you feel.

‘It’s not far now,’ Liam calls. He’s at the head of the group, leading the way since he caught Mason’s scent a few miles back, and charges on ahead. Scott’s hot on his heels, and Theo goes to follow them at speed. Now’s your chance. You’ve been avoiding him the whole hike, since you didn’t feel right about talking to him about your relationship in front of Scott and Liam, but now that they’re gone…

Before Theo can rush off, you get your hand on his shoulder and stop him. He looks sideways at it with disgust before realising who it is, then your eyes meet over his shoulder and he turns, looking at you as if it’s the first time he’s noticed you were even there, despite hiking together for hours. 

‘Ready to talk now?’ you ask him, and he turns to face you properly, glancing quickly over his shoulder to see where Scott and Liam are headed. Satisfied that he can follow afterwards, he focuses his full attention on you. Your hand is still on his shoulder, and he reaches up and covers it with his own, as if nothing is wrong between you. Oh, how wrong he is.

‘You think now’s a good time? There’s more-’

‘More important things to be dealing with, yeah, I know,’ you sigh. ‘But if we don’t do this now, I feel like we’re not going to get to do it at all. So talk to me, Theo. Tell me what’s going on. Why are you acting like your old self again?’

‘Are you so sure it’s an act? What if this is who I’ve always been, and being with you was the act?’ The thought had crossed your mind, but you won’t admit it to yourself; there’s no way that’s true, it’s just not.

‘That’s a lie. I know you’re good at it, but I can tell that one from a mile away. You wouldn’t have been the way you’ve been with me if you didn’t feel something. So how come after all this time, after all the progress we’d made, you treated me the way you did back at the school last night?’

Theo’s trying to avoid your eyes, but you reach up and grab his chin, making him look at you. It’s a forceful gesture, but gentle, like pulling the leash of a dog to tell it that it’s time to go. You’re not letting Theo avoid these questions anymore. It’s time for answers.

He squirms uncharacteristically, but eventually he speaks. ‘I know how I treated you at the school was wrong. But the full moon’s nearly here, and we’re running out of time to stop the Beast before the Dread Doctors get what they want. I’m trying to protect you all, I’ve told you that before. If it means you hate me, but you’re safe, then so be it. But stopping the Beast is my top priority now; I don’t think either of us can afford any…distractions.’

‘Is that what I am to you?’ you ask, your voice rising with anger, ‘a distraction?’

‘Right now? Yeah, I guess you are. But only because it could mean you get hurt, or worse. So until the Beast has been stopped, I don’t think there can be an ‘us’ right now.’

The logic of his words makes sense, but it’s almost like he’s rammed his claw into your chest and smashed your heart to pieces, like the phantom Theo did so long ago. To stop yourself getting even more emotional, you try a tried and true Theo manoeuvre and deflect him with another question you’d been dying to hear answered.

‘What happened to Josh, Theo? Did Deucalion mean what I think he meant?’ 

‘Josh was in the way,’ Theo says with finality. ‘He had something we needed to help stop the Dread Doctors and the Beast, and he wouldn’t give it to us. So I took it from him.’

The ice in his tone is enough to make you step back. His face is still, as if what he just said didn’t faze him at all, and since your own heart is pounding at a hundred miles an hour, you just can’t see how that’s possible.

‘Is that what you do? If someone’s in your way, you kill them? Like you killed Scott?’

‘If it means protecting the people I care about, then yes,’ Theo replies.

‘That’s insane. You can’t think like that; it doesn’t make any sense. If you just kill people who don’t agree with you, how are you any better than the monsters we’re trying to stop?’

‘That’s not how this works,’ he replies, again with that icy cold voice. You shake your head in disbelief and push past him to go after Liam and Scott. You can’t face Theo right now, not alone. He’s kept this side of himself obscured for so long, you thought he’d put all that behind him; or have you just been ignoring it because it was too painful to see? 

You have one last thought you think might get through to him, so you whisper it in his ear as you leave. ‘You said I was supposed to be your conscience, Theo. But how am I supposed be that for you when you won’t even listen to me anymore?’

****

You’re breathing heavily, in and out, in and out, trying to re-centre yourself. If you hadn’t seen it with your own eyes, you’re not sure you’d have believed it at all. You, Scott, Liam, and Theo had arrived at a small shack in the far reaches of Beacon Hills woods only to find Mason plugged into one of the Dread Doctors’ despicable machines, liquid from a Nazi werewolf’s preservation tank pumping into his neck.

You’d tried to free him, but it was all in vain when the Dread Doctors themselves showed up. Mason had transformed into the Beast, and proceeded to slaughter the Doctors, swat you all aside, and flee off into the night. Liam and Scott have gone back upstairs to the woods to see to the Argents, whose car you heard arrive a few moments ago, followed by gunshots. That leaves you down here – with Theo.

He’s clutching his side, blood oozing out between his fingers; he’s not in good shape, and his chimera healing abilities are having a hard time keeping him alive. The Beast’s claws must have cut deeply, even deeper than when it attacked Liam. He looks up at you with eyes twisted in agony, hand clamped over his wound, and what can only be described as panic on his face. 

Despite everything, your heart still aches to see him like this. 

Despite everything, you know you have to do anything you can to help him. 

You know you’re not a werewolf; you can’t take Theo’s pain, not the way Hayden did with Liam back at the school. But you’re not a doctor either; you can’t stop the bleeding in the usual way. This is the only thing you know how to do – pain makes you human, Scott always says. But maybe, maybe love makes you human too.

And since Theo’s been having trouble getting in touch with his human side lately, maybe your love can help him find his way back.

So, despite everything, you drop to your knees next to him, grab his face in both your hands and kiss him as hard as you can. His other hand finds its way to your cheek, holding you fast to his lips. 

As you break apart, you rest your forehead on his, feeling his fever through the contact. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see his blood-stained hand still firmly pressed into his wound; you’re not sure if it helped, but both of you seemed to need that kiss.

‘What was that for?’ Theo asks weakly, ‘I thought we weren’t going to do that again for a while.’ 

‘I couldn’t help myself,’ you admit. ‘After the Dread Doctors told you that you were a failure, that you were evil, I couldn’t bear it. They’ve hurt you so much, twisted your mind into something not your own, and now the monster they created stole Mason from us and hurt you too. I don’t want to see you get hurt anymore.’

‘Even if it means you get hurt instead?’ he whispers.

‘Even if that’s what it means,’ you agree. ‘They’re wrong, you know. You’re not a failure. And you’re not an ordinary evil. You’re not evil at all.’

‘Are you sure about that?’ 

‘As sure as I’ve ever been about anything. You’ve just lost your way, that’s all. And if I helped you find your way back once, I can do it again.’

‘You sound like you’re taking that as a challenge.’

‘Well, maybe I am. But why didn’t you tell them yourself? You told them you weren’t ordinary, but when they called you evil, you didn’t tell them otherwise.’

‘I guess…I’ve been playing this role for so long, maybe it’s become more a part of me than I’d like to admit. Because none of this changes anything.’ He winces with pain and pushes himself up into a sitting position, leaning on you as he does so. His bulk is reassuring, even if his heart still seems to be running a marathon, and his body is burning up through his clothes.

‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean; I’m still going to stop the Beast. I’m going to take its power. I’m going to win. Even if that means embracing the evil. Because even if you love me, I’ve come too far and sacrificed too much to stop.’

You feel yourself stiffen against Theo; things have gone from odd-but-romantic to strained-and-confusing very quickly. Your voice is edged with panic when next you speak. ‘You can’t mean that. We can stop this now, Theo. Let Scott and the others deal with the Beast, you’ve done enough, you’ve sacrificed enough!’

‘I’m seeing this through to the end. Whatever it takes.’

Before you can reply again, you hear footsteps on the stairs above you. Tracey descends, rounding the corner and seeing you both pressed against each other. She regards you with a cool gaze; you may have earned her respect, but she obviously still has trust issues. Or maybe…could she be jealous?

That’s the last thing you need right now; you’re grappling with Theo’s emotions, you don’t need Tracey trying to steal him out from under you. Which is what she does literally if not emotionally, helping Theo to his feet and towards the stairs.

‘We’re leaving. Theo needs to heal, and then we need to regroup and work out what to do next. I’d stay out of our way if I were you,’ she says in a voice as cool as her gaze.

‘Whatever it takes,’ Theo reiterates, giving you one last look as he turns to go up the stairs, leaning heavily on Tracey. You catch her eye as she ascends with him, a strange feeling coming over you as you do so.

‘Tracey!’ you call out, not really sure why. ‘Be careful.’ You flick your eyes at Theo, but if Tracey hears you, you’re not sure. Maybe she just doesn’t want to hear what you have to say. But if Theo really did kill Josh, then what’s to say that Tracey is safe? 

What’s to say that you’re safe, for that matter?

‘What’s wrong? Don’t you trust me anymore?’ Theo calls back feebly. And there’s something about the smirk on his face, and the hungry way he seems to look at Tracey out of the corner of his eye that causes you to think that, no, maybe you don’t.

That leaves you alone in the creepy room with the dead bodies of two of the Dread Doctors, and the tank with the Nazi werewolf in it. His eyes are unfocused and unblinking, but you can’t shake the feeling that, now you’re here alone, he’s staring at you. You quickly ascend the stairs to see Scott, Liam, Chris and Gerard Argent, and Parrish discussing their next move. Theo and Tracey are nowhere to be seen.

On the floor next to you is the final unmoving Dread Doctor. Gerard hobbles over and pulls its cane from its grasp, giving you a wry smile. ‘Far too precious to be left out here alone,’ he says cryptically to you before getting back in his truck.

You look out over the trees once again, and although you’re no banshee, you get this strange feeling that whatever happens, one way or another, everything is going to end tonight. The Dread Doctors are dead; the Beast has escaped; Theo’s still out there. But somehow, you’re pretty sure that an ending is imminent, and it’s likely not going to be a happy one.

You don’t know what to expect from Theo anymore. He’s truly become a wildcard. You thought you knew him, that you were getting through to him, but for every step he seemed to take in the right direction, he’s fallen back on himself twice as far now that the threat of the Beast is so close. 

You know you love him. Or you love part of him, at least. The kind, gentle, caring part. The sociopathic homicidal part? Not so much. But you told him as much before; you’re not giving up on him. He’s given up so much, he deserves to be happy. And if that means stopping him from doing something dangerous, if it means putting yourself in harm’s way to stop him, then so be it.

Then you hear a familiar clicking noise, the whir of gears and machinery at your feet. The Dread Doctor you thought was dead is reaching up at you weakly, one gauntleted hand extended. Its red eye is cracked, and even though its face is masked, you feel as though you can see the pain and sorrow underneath.

Your eyes widen in surprise before you shout, ‘Scott! He’s still alive!’ and the final chain of events that leads to your self-prophesied unhappy ending begins.


	20. Safe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set during the events of Teen Wolf 5x20 - Apotheosis

The exasperation you feel at being back down in the water treatment tunnels can’t be described in simple words. This place is associated with all of the recent hell you and your friends have been going through, and you want nothing more than to leave and never return. But of course, you’re down here for the best reason – you’re here to finally finish this. Scott, as you always knew he would, has a plan. You’re desperately trying to forget that the Beast is down here with you too, because if you let that thought bubble to the surface, you’re not sure if you’ll be able to stop yourself from running for the nearest exit.

But your friends need you. You’ve spent far too much time recently concerned with Theo and how you feel about him; you’re trying to make up for lost time, and this is where you should have been from the start – with your friends, trying to help them through this.

You trudge along silently with Scott and Liam, supporting Lydia on your arm. She gives you a grateful smile as she leans on you, the bandage on her neck stark white in the gloom. She’s Scott’s secret weapon; her voice may be the only thing that can pierce the veil and reach Mason, plus the Beast tried to kill her, which indicates that he feels threatened by her and lends credit to that theory. The fact that Lydia has once again ended up in the hospital as part of all this madness isn’t lost on anyone, and dragging her out and back into the fight is the last thing anyone wanted to do, but if she can save Mason, then it’ll all be worth it. And she, like you, wouldn’t have it any other way.

You’re not sure how Scott and Liam know where they’re going; how any of them could smell anything over the chemicals and stale water that permeates the air and hangs like a cloud of damp around the group is beyond you.

No one says anything. Lydia is saving her voice; Scott and Liam are concentrating on tracking the Beast, you assume. And you don’t want to disturb anyone. The only sound is that of your sneakers hitting the floor, echoing around the corridors no matter how quietly you try to keep your steps.

The two werewolves turn a corner. As they do so, something changes. The air, already wet with vapour, now seems to crackle with energy, and a high pitched frequency like someone trying to tune radio pervades the air. ‘Scott? You hear that?’ Liam asks, biting his lip and looking around; his hands are raised, ready to punch or claw as need be. 

You feel Lydia tense her grip on you, fingers digging into your arm. ‘I heard that,’ she confirms, her voice weak and raspy. Scott immediately turns back to her and puts his finger over his lips.

‘Lydia, save your voice’ he says. The sound is getting louder now, no longer just a pitched frequency but the sound of actual electricity crackling through the air like whips of energy snapping through the silence. You shuffle your feet anxiously, and look down when you hear the sound of water rather than concrete. Suddenly two and two make four, and you realise what’s about to happen just as Scott does.

‘Lydia, get out of the water!’ He darts back toward you and pushes you both as hard as he can. You cannon forward into the stone wall, your feet scraping concrete floor rather than water and your hands drawing blood as they graze the wall at speed. 

You quickly look to see if Lydia is alright, then turn back to see arcs of electricity leaping through the water drenching the floor. Everything slows down as you see the blue streaks reach Liam and Scott, travelling up their legs and across their bodies, sending them into spasms. No sooner have they toppled sideways into the water than the electricity stops, but the damage is done; they’re both paralyzed, at least for now.

Instinctively your gaze is drawn to the source of the electricity, hoping against hope that you don’t see what you fear the most. Unfortunately, that’s not the case as Theo rounds the bend, lightning leaping between his fingers and rage in his eyes. Somehow, killing Josh has given Theo his powers, or something – whatever’s happened, he’s now even more dangerous than ever. 

What makes it even worse is that he pushes past as if he doesn’t even see you. Instead, he grabs Lydia’s arm and pushes her forward towards an open grate you hadn’t noticed set into the floor before. You realise what he’s about to do seconds before he does it, and you’re yelling as he whispers ‘Sorry Lydia,’ and pushes her into the hole. 

Even restricted by her injuries, Lydia’s scream pierces your ears. You’re too far away to grab her, but Scott pulls himself across the floor and manages to catch her by the hand. Of course, Theo’s not going to let Scott thwart him that easily however. He flicks his fingers in that familiar gesture, but instead of the yellow claws you’re used to seeing, you see instead the dark black, twisted claws of a Kanima on the end of his fingers, which he viciously digs into the flesh of Scott’s leg.

Theo’s new claws confirm another of your worst fears – he did kill Tracey after all. But you’ll be damned if you’re going to let him kill anyone else. Your legs move almost before the thought passes through your brain, and you’ve fastened your hands around Theo’s wrist, trying to pull his claws out of Scott’s leg as Scott himself desperately tries to haul Lydia up out of the hole before she falls who knows how far and into who knows what.

‘Theo, no! What are you doing?’ you cry, your voice almost a shriek. ‘Let go, you can’t do this!’ You’re using all your strength, your legs trying to gain purchase on the wet floor, but Theo’s arm refuses to budge. You can feel the tendons in his forearm tightening in resistance, but you’re sure you’re not causing him any problems at all. Indeed, he reaches back and flattens his palm on your chest.

‘I told you. I’m doing whatever it takes. And I’m not going to let you stop me.’ He barely moves, but the force on your chest is undeniable – you rocket backwards into the wall again, your grip instantly broken on Theo’s wrist at the same time you hear Lydia scream once more as Scott’s hand finally gives out, his bloodstream flooded with Theo’s new Kanima toxin. 

Scott drops to the floor, his body now completely paralyzed. Liam’s still trying to fight off the effects of the electricity. Lydia’s gone – maybe forever. And Theo slowly unfolds his body and gets to his feet, standing over you with that insufferable smirk on his face.

What has happened to him? In the last few days, he hasn’t so much as backslid as turned around and ran right back the way he came. You’re not sure why. You’re not sure if there was something you could have done to stop him. But now he’s standing over you, great and terrible, and you hate yourself for still finding the quirk of his mouth, the swell of his arms, the heat of his eyes all so attractive. 

You think this must be it. There’s no way he’s going to let you live. You represent everything he’s obviously trying to forget. You’re determined not to go out with a whimper. You push yourself to your feet, your fiercest look on your face, and you step towards Theo in defiance, blocking Scott and Liam from his view. You won’t last a second. But you’re not going down without a fight.

‘I’m not going to fight you. Not just because it’d be an unfair fight, but because we don’t need to do this. I’m not going to hurt you. Any of you. Unless I have to.’ That last sentence is accompanied by a glare, but it soon becomes a smirk once again. ‘You know I want to stop the Beast, the same as you. But I’m not about to squander all that power; so help me. Help me put all that power in my hands, rather than wasting it.’

Theo extends his hand, palm open, claws retracted, waiting for you to take it. To join him. You almost can’t believe your ears. 

‘You’re going to kill him. You’re going to kill Mason. Like you killed Lydia,’ Liam says from the floor, and you nod in agreement.

‘Mason’s already gone; there’s nothing left of him to save,’ Theo insists. ‘And Lydia’s not dead – just out of the way for a while.’ 

‘We don’t believe that,’ you tell him. ‘Scott has a plan to save Mason and stop the Beast at the same time.’ Theo rolls his eyes, smirking that smirk you used to hate, then grew to love, but now want to punch right off the side of his face.

‘I’m going to stop the Beast. You can come with me, or not. I’m not going to hurt any of you, as long as you stay out of my way.’

Theo’s hand remains outstretched. You look back over your shoulder at Scott; you’re not impartial enough to make this decision yourself, and you trust Scott more than yourself most days anyway. He gives you a pained smile, and nods slowly, already willing his werewolf metabolism to burn out the Kanima toxin so he can follow you. ‘Be careful,’ he mouths, and you return his nod.

You turn back and wordlessly take Theo’s hand, walking away from your friends, your friends who need you now more than ever. But instead, you’re leaving them paralyzed or in a hole, and walking away with someone who, if not an outright enemy, can’t be trusted to have their best interests in mind either.

****

‘You killed Tracey.’ It’s not an accusation, just a statement of fact. Theo nods, no emotion on his face as the two of you walk side by side down the twisting passageways in search of the Beast. Your hands are still clasped together, but it’s more like a pair of handcuffs than a romantic gesture; Theo doesn’t want to let you go.

‘I did what I had to do. It was the only way I’d be strong enough to stop the Beast before Scott did.’ 

‘You can’t believe that. You brought them back to life just so you could kill them again. So you could steal their power the same way you want to steal the Beast’s.’ 

‘I told you,’ Theo says impatiently, ‘I don’t want to hurt anyone. But if they get in my way, if they try and stop me, then this is how it ends. You get that, right?’

The thinly veiled threat doesn’t go unnoticed. Theo’s warning you one last time to stay out of his way. But he’s brought you with him. In some sick way, he wants, needs, an audience. He wants someone to witness his moment of triumph when he takes down the Beast and becomes the alpha he’s always wanted to be. You’re not sure if you should be terrified of him, or for him. 

Not that you get much chance to decide. Ahead of you, you can see another shape in the darkness. It’s unfamiliar, but you can tell instinctively who it is by the sense of dread that you feel. Theo releases your hand and steps forward, and the shape does the same. As it steps into the light, an unrecognizable face is revealed, but again, there’s only one person this could be. Sebastian Valet – the true Beast of Gevaudan, in all his murderous glory.

From behind, you can see Theo’s transformation taking place; his claws lengthen, and hair works its way down his smooth cheeks. If he turned to face you, you’d see the animalistic creases in his forehead, the sharp fangs and the glowing yellow eyes that mark him as a werewolf. You remember your fascination with that transformation, how he let you feel as he went through the change, but even all that power seems to pale in comparison to the very human man standing in front of the two of you.

‘Another arrogant youth. A contender to steal my name?’ The French in the man’s accent is pronounced, as is the menace that drips from every word. His face is incredulous, as if he’s surprised at so many people trying to oppose him. ‘You think you can take it from me?’

Theo growls, raising his claws to attack. ‘I just want your power!’ he yells, and runs forward, plunging his claws all the way into Valet’s stomach. Blood runs down his fingers and onto the floor, but Valet barely even flinches. You can see the lines of darkness running from Valet’s body into Theo as Theo tries to drain the power from him, but you can already tell that it’s not working.

‘Theo!’ you shout, and he glances back at you, a look of pure terror on his face that you’ve never seen before. Pain, sorrow, anger, yes. But never such a complete lack of confidence, his usual arrogance and faith in himself replaced by a look that fills you with despair.

Valet’s eyes glow a devastating blue, and he is smiling as dark smoke appears as if from nowhere, engulfing and hiding him from view. In seconds, Valet is gone, and the nine-foot-tall werewolf that is the Beast of Gevaudan stands in his place. It raises one enormous claw and fastens it around Theo’s throat, ramming him into the nearest wall, shattering pipes and knocking him to the floor.

‘No! Leave him alone!’ You run forward and block Theo from the Beast, arms splayed out in protection. It’s a suicidal move, you know. But you can’t just let him go. The same way you defended Scott and Liam from Theo himself, you’re not going to let someone hurt Theo either. In that moment you realise - you love him still, just as much as you do your friends; even if he isn’t the man you thought he was. Even if he’s killed people. Even if he’s misguided. You’ve seen who he can be, and you’re not prepared to lose him, not to this monster, not to anyone.

The Beast’s mouth twists into a perverse smile, and it raises it’s claw to strike. You can hear Theo shouting your name, begging you to move, but the blood pounding in your ears drowns him out. Grabbing a piece of pipe from the floor, you raise it above your head, ready to defend yourself.

The Beast moves faster than your eyes can track it. The pipe clangs to the floor next to you, and your arms fall to your sides. For some reason, you can’t seem to move them anymore. And the Beast’s breath is hot on your face, but you can’t seem to focus your eyes on it, even if it’s only a few inches from you.

You look down and see that it’s claws are buried in your stomach, in the same way Theo’s were in the Beast’s own not seconds before. But this time, they’re definitely doing damage. The slick squelching noise they make as the Beast draws them out of your flesh makes you feel sick, and your knees buckle out from under you. You collapse to one side, and the last thing you see is Theo’s face, wracked with guilt and terror, his hand outstretched towards you as you black out.

**** 

Your head swims, your vision floating in and out of focus. The floor is bitterly cold under your cheek, water collecting under your chin. It’s only when you try to raise your head from the floor and it sticks that you realise it isn’t water at all, but blood. Your blood. The shock forces you up into a sitting position, and you shove yourself across the hallway until you’re out of the pool, leaving two streaks of crimson along the floor in your wake.

‘Oh thank god,’ comes a familiar voice. You look down to your left and see Theo laying lopsided next to you. His neck is twisted at a peculiar angle and his face is contorted in pain, but he doesn’t seem concerned about himself at all; instead he’s focused on you, his eyes scanning your entire body trying to discern the extent of your injuries.

You lift your t-shirt and scan your stomach where the Beast’s claws pierced you, three ragged holes ringed with blood in a line just above your waistband. The wounds aren’t as deep as you thought, and surprisingly, they don’t hurt as much as you were sure they would. ‘What...?’ you question. In fact, you thought they were…fatal.

‘What do you think happened? Scott, of course.’ Theo begins. He reaches out to you, and you grab his arm, helping him up into a sitting position next to you. ‘He turned up after the Beast left, him and the Argents, and Deucalion.’ 

Theo explains Scott’s master plan, all of the crosses and double crosses, how Chris wounded Gerard, and Gerard shot Deucalion, and how Deucalion himself had broken Theo’s neck. ‘They didn’t think you were going to make it, but Scott, he wouldn’t give up. He took your pain, and checked your pulse, said it was still strong. He knew I wouldn’t hurt you once my neck healed, so they left you here with me while they went off to try and stop the Beast their own way.’

You trace the edges of your wounds with your fingers, wincing at their tenderness. Scott’s never taken your pain before, never had the need. And now your friends are off without you again; all your old fears and doubts about being a liability to your pack bubble up once more, but you do your best to ignore them. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise; maybe being left here alone with Theo is the best possible thing for you – maybe you can use this time to get through to him, tie up this loose end for the pack. And to sort out your relationship, once and for all.

‘So what are you going to do now?’ you ask him, glancing at him out of the corner of your eye. His neck is slowly healing itself, but it’s uncomfortable to look him in the eyes when they’re not exactly where they should be. ‘Is it over?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Are we over?’

‘…I don’t know. Do you want us to be?’ Theo’s good, but even he can’t hide the tremor in his voice as he waits for you to answer. You reach out your hand without looking and find his, interlacing his fingers with your own.

‘You know I don’t, Theo. After all the things you’ve done, I still don’t. But you keep making the same mistakes, keep hurting the same people, and I’m scared that you’re going to fall too far down into the darkness, where I can’t lead you back out. You’ve killed people, Theo. Scott, Josh, Tracey. Where does it end?’

Theo sighs, right up close to your ear. ‘I wish I knew. I just know that if I had the Beast’s power, I’d be able to protect everyone. I’d be the alpha you all need me to be.’

‘You don’t need to be anything more than you already are. I’d love you if you were an alpha, an omega, or just a plain old human like me.’

Theo’s hand recedes, and you force yourself to look sideways at him. His neck is almost fully healed now, but his eyes are avoiding you. ‘I wish…I wish I was even half the person you see me as. But I’m not.’

‘I think you underestimate yourself.’ You find his hand again, and that gives you an idea. You take his fingers carefully and place them on the back of your neck. ‘Let me show you how I see you.’

Theo’s eyes widen. ‘Are you serious? You know what happened to Lydia. I’m not doing that again, and definitely not to you.’

You give him your warmest, most reassuring smile. ‘I trust you, Theo. Let me show you how I see you, the man I know you can be, the man I’ve seen you be.’

His face betrays the warring emotions within him, but eventually your suggestion wins out. ‘As long as you’re sure?’ he asks, and you nod emphatically. He flicks his fingers, his werewolf claws springing into place. You hold his wrist as his hand finds the base of your neck, and gasp, short and sharp as his claws pierce the skin and Theo enters your memories.

****

What follows is like a whirlwind of all the times you’ve spent together. You get rushes of emotion along the way, each replaced by the next one so quickly it’s almost as if the preceding one was never there. But it all combines into one immersive experience, starting from the beginning, the first time you saw Theo:

The werewolf drenched in rainwater, all mystery and potential and smirks. The way his shirt clung to him in all the right places, and how you couldn’t get him out of your head for the rest of the day until you saw him again.

The uneasiness as you tried to decipher all these new feelings; what did they mean, what were they trying to tell you? Was the attraction mutual, or were you reading too much into things? And then the relief when Theo acknowledged how you felt, and seemed to reciprocate your feelings, marred by the pain of your first argument in the parking lot at the hospital.

How awful you felt in the following days, how you knew that you’d treated Theo badly, scared that he would never speak to you again. Followed by your reconciliation in the library, the reassurance that you hadn’t broken anything irrevocably, and that there was still hope.

A wave of passion comes next as you relive your first intense make-out session in the school gym, how it had been hard and fast and wonderful and exciting and unexpected all at once. And how surprised you were to see that he wanted more than just intenseness, that he wanted to slow down and experience you for who you were, how he admired your contributions to the pack and your fierce protectiveness over your friends. 

What comes next is even more vivid; your first time with Theo, the night at the lake hidden almost as well as the Nemeton within the depths of Beacon Hills woods. That night is like a burning supernova in your memory, a light so bright that no amount of darkness around it can snuff it out. You remember the joy of your two bodies coming together, the beauty of Theo’s nakedness and the of the moment itself.

You gasp once again as you relive the memory, and you’re dimly aware of Theo trying to take his claws from your neck. You ram your hand on top of his, whispering ‘No, don’t stop!’ as you plunge onwards, determined to show him the rest, even if the next few memories are as painful as the previous ones were pleasurable.

The deepest, darkest of despairs follows this, as Theo sees how badly his betrayal and the reveal that he was the last chimera hurt you. The abject terror that came with the Dread Doctors’ abduction of you, and how rudderless you felt once Theo’s apparent allegiances came to light. But the flicker of hope was there, always there. You knew there was something more to the story; but you weren’t sure if you’d find out what it was.

And then, against all odds, you get your chance. Despite his betrayals, Theo still wants to spend time with you, to show you how his plan works, why he's the better alternative to Scott. And then what begins as an undercover mission for Scott (you feel Theo flinch here, but he ploughs on) becomes a full-on fact finding mission for yourself. 

As the next bout of memories plays, the awkwardness between you and the other members of your pack as you try to explain to them what Theo means to you bubbles to the fore. How your feelings for him aren't going to jeopardise your friendships. And how one by one, they all come around to that idea; even if they don't trust Theo, they trust you. The pride you felt in those moments, knowing that your friends knew you knew what you were doing, Theo feels all that too.

That trust extends further as the fear and determination you felt when taking on Deucalion with Theo's pack, and how you began to feel a sense of belonging with them as well as your own arrive. The elation that came with Deucalion's defeat (although if Theo's to be believed, he wanted to be captured all along) and how you knew Theo would be happy, that you'd been able to help him; that all gets shown to him as well.

The eventful night in Eichen House, still too recent in memory for comfort, rushes through you next. This is even more of a maelstrom of emotions, that night was hard on everyone. Fear, happiness, terror, worry, love, relief, all are felt in equal measure as you relive your break-in and flight out of the insane asylum that you hope never to see again. 

And then you've almost come full circle; the last few days replay - your trip into the woods with Theo, his fight with the Beast and your fall into the river, how worried you were that he was going to lose two people he loved on that bridge, and how safe you felt in his arms when he pulled you from the icy water. And of course, the intensity and the passion in the back of his car after he rescued you. How you knew then that you'd be able to help him back away from his darkness.

Followed by the return of despair, seeing Theo retreat back into that darkness at the charity lacrosse game, how sad you were to see him blinded once more by his lust for power, and how disappointed and almost frightened of him you were after realising he'd killed Josh, and now Tracey. How you can feel him slipping away from you, and nothing you do or say seems to convince him not to stray back and give in to his darker impulses.

Theo’s voice cuts through the reverie of memories, and you can hear the sadness in his voice. ‘Why? After all this that I’ve put you through, after all the lies and the betrayals and the murder, why do you still care about me?’

‘Because, Theo. There’s no real explanation for it. I know it sounds crazy, but I’ve seen how good you can be, and…I love you. So much that I’d do this, for you.’ 

You will your memories backwards, showing Theo one he hasn’t seen, one that doesn’t involve him directly. Theo sees you asking, almost pleading Scott to try and save him. Asking the person he had just literally murdered, to try and save the person who murdered him. And Theo sees Scott, pure, selfless, astounding Scott, agreeing. 

The shock of it pulls Theo’s claws from your neck, despite your resistance. His face is a mask of disbelief, an involuntary tear in his eye. You reach out to wipe it, but he bats your hand away like an irritating fly. ‘Theo, what? What’s wrong?’

‘How can he be like that? How can he be so good, so strong, without even trying? I have to fight for everything I’ve ever had, and he gets it all totally naturally. He gets a pack, he gets to be not just an alpha, but a true alpha, and I can’t even be a real werewolf? It’s…it’s not fair!’ He punctuates that final thought with a punch to the wall, sending shards of concrete up in a puff of white.

You edge in closer to comfort him, your hand finding his face, turning it towards yours. ‘Hey, it’s not like that. Scott’s had to fight too. It’s never been easy for him. And you don’t have to be like Scott. You can just be Theo, and I’d love you. Not Scott. You.’

He looks at you uncomprehendingly, as if the very idea that someone would prefer him over Scott is absurd. 

‘It’s true, Theo. No matter what you do, no matter what you’ve done, I’ll still love you. You’re the one. I choose you.’ 

And with that, you lean forward and kiss him. It’s just as much a kiss as an act of communication, your last chance, your final shot at convincing Theo that you love him, that he’s worth saving, that no matter what he’s done, you know Scott will forgive him. It’s all tongues and teeth and hands and fleeting touches, more intense than any other kiss you’ve shared. 

And when you feel Theo’s kanima claws stab into your leg and his paralytic toxin flood through your body, forced even quicker through your bloodstream by your heavily pounding heart, as well as the tang of the venom on your lips, you know it’s going to be the last kiss you ever share.

Your mouth moves, but no sound comes out. Somehow, Theo has coated his lips with the toxin, to stop you talking to him. To stop you from convincing him that what he’s doing is unnecessary, that it’s wrong. You slump sideways, your entire body unmoving, except your eyes.

Those eyes follow Theo as he pulls himself to his feet, rolling his considerable shoulders and flicking out his claws on both hands, lightning crackling between them. ‘I’m sorry. I am. But if I can’t be like Scott, then I’ll be stronger. I’m going to steal the Beast’s power, and then Scott and I can sort this out once and for all. Then I’m coming back, and we can pick up where we left off.’

He turns to go, and your eyes widen as the one sound that could make things ten times worse echoes through the tunnels. It’s Lydia, somehow rescued from the hole Theo threw her into, and she’s calling Mason’s name. It’s reverberating around the entire complex, and it’s like a death knell for all of Theo’s plans.

‘NO!’ Theo’s rage causes electricity to arc off of his body, striking the walls and almost hitting you. The fury is making Theo’s body shake, and he’s seething, breathing in and out rapidly. ‘Damn it! Scott! You can’t take this away from me!’

He takes one final look back at you, and his eyes, tight with anger, soften just for a second. ‘’I’m sorry. I’m sorry I can’t be the man you thought I was. The man you deserve. But if I can’t have the Beast’s power, then I need to prove I’m better than Scott! Even if I have to kill him all over again to do it!’ 

The anger returns to Theo’s eyes, telling you that it’s over. You’ve lost him now. There’s not going to be any more reasoning with him. Not that you can even speak; you can only watch sadly, silent tears slipping down your face and drenching the floor as he stalks away from you, murder on his mind and your kiss only a memory on his lips.

****

You drag your useless legs behind you, pulling yourself along the wall and leaning heavily on the pipes to give yourself more support. Theo’s kanima toxin may be effective, but your determination is overcoming it; just not as quickly as you’d like. Adrenaline is outpacing toxin in your system, but you’re deathly afraid that you’re still going to be too slow. Your throat is still paralyzed however; you can’t talk Theo down when you find him. You work your jaw, making hoarse noises with your vocal chords, trying to will them back to life.

And then you’re speechless anyway as you round a corner and take in the scene before you. 

You’re behind Theo, who’s facing off against your pack. In front of him stand Scott and Stiles, Liam, Lydia, and most astonishingly, Mason and Corey, and Kira. The relief you feel to see Mason alive and well, and Kira back from wherever she went is soon overridden however. A bolt of lightning arcs between Theo’s outstretched hand and Kira’s katana, and you can only watch as she deflects the energy into the wall harmlessly.

‘The skinwalkers have a message for you, Theo!’ she calls, twirling the blade above her head. ‘Your sister wants to see you.’

Then Kira strikes downwards, driving her blade into the ground in front of her. A crack zigzags out from the point of impact, widening as it reaches Theo’s feet. From the fissure, two hands drenched in water reach up, followed by a young woman, hair plastered to her face. Her features may be obscured, but you know she is who Kira says she is. 

Theo looks down, pure, unfiltered terror on his face as his sister fastens her hands around his legs. You can tell that it must be a grip like iron, completely unbreakable, because Theo can’t seem to shake her off as she pulls him down into the hole with her. 

‘No!’ he screams, his voice cracking in fear. ‘Scott! Help me! Help me, Scott!’ He reaches out to your alpha, but Scott’s too far away to help, even if he wanted to. And you’re still too weak to get near enough in time. All you can do is watch, as you feel the grip of the toxin on your throat finally recede.

‘Theo!’ you call, and he turns as he falls, locking eyes with you in his final moment as he disappears below the rim of the hole, and the crack in the ground seals up over him. He’s gone. Down into the darkness where even you can’t follow. And from where, this time, you definitely can’t lead him back out.

The tears come freely, and you collapse onto the ground, dragging yourself over to where Theo disappeared, feebly clawing at the concrete as sobs wrack your body. You barely feel your friends rush over, help you up onto your feet and out of the tunnels.

For all his flaws, for his hubris and his arrogance and his rage, you loved him. It was a fierce love, like a wildfire in your heart that threatened to burn you up as if you were made of paper, but you couldn’t turn away, not even for a second. And now it’s gone, completely snuffed out, with no hope of being rekindled.

A piece of your world has disappeared into that crack in the ground; there’s going to be a Theo-shaped hole in your life forever, and there’s nothing you or anyone can do about it.

****

You slowly trudge through the library, dragging your feet. The sun is shining, illuminating the room with a warm glow that stands against your dark mood. Grief and anger cloud your heart, and no amount of sunshine can break through them.

Theo is gone. He’s never coming back. Wherever Kira sent him, you know there’s no way you can follow. And now you have to go back to your life without him. The life he turned so completely upside down that you’re not even sure what it was before he arrived. But even if all you want to do is collapse where you are and cry forever, you have to continue on. For yourself. For Scott. For your pack. For your friends.

Your friends.

As you walk through the library, you see them. Mason and Corey are hiding down one of the stacks, trying to look nonchalant, but they can barely keep their hands off of each other. At a table in the centre of the room, lit from above by a skylight as if heaven itself has chosen them, Scott, Lydia, and Stiles are talking and laughing. 

By the counter, you can see Malia asking for some new highlighters; her old reliable yellow one must have finally given up the ghost. Liam and Hayden are around the corner, hands clasped almost unconsciously between them as they scribble away in their notebooks – their love worked out fine. Mason and Corey’s did, too.

But your chimera love affair was doomed, and now you need to come to terms with that.

It’s a good thing that Kira had to go back out into the desert with the skinwalkers. You’re not sure what you’d say to her for dropping Theo in that hole. You know logically she was saving Scott, saving all of your friends. But she knew how much Theo meant to you. Wasn’t there some other way? She didn’t even say anything to you before she left – probably as unsure what to say as you would have been. 

You climb the stairs to the upper floor of the library, ignoring everyone as you walk past them, looking down at your friends from the next floor, leaning heavily on the railing. You can see it all from up here. Their happiness. Their love. You feel yourself twisting inside, like someone’s taken hold of your intestines and pulled. Resentment rises like bile in your throat, and you can feel your face contorting with hatred.

And then Scott looks up at you, and flashes you a smile. It’s a smile that says so many things in one go, it takes you a moment to process. He’s here if you need to talk. He knows how much this is hurting. He’ll leave you alone if that’s what you need. He’s sorry that you lost the one you loved; he knows how that feels. But above all, nothing has changed. He’s still your friend – they all are. And even if you don’t want them right now, they’re still here for you when you do.

You never gave up on Theo; they’re not going to give up on you, either.

The knot in your stomach disintegrates, the resentment in your throat becomes a guilty memory you wish you’d never thought, and you smile back, your first genuine smile since Theo…disappeared. You refuse to think that he’s dead. He’s just not here. Not with you. Somewhere inside you’re still holding out hope that you’ll see him again, even if it’s an almost impossible dream.  
But the knowledge that you’re not alone, even though he isn’t here, comforts you. You turn back from Scott and push the books sitting on one of the shelves aside, revealing the letters you and your friends scribbled down onto the white plastic at Senior Scribe. It feels like years ago, when really it was only a few weeks. You’ve all been through so much since then, it’s no surprise your sense of time has warped.

Fishing in your bag, you find a permanent marker. Next to your own initials, a small smirk on your face, you add two more.

T.R.

He would like that, you think.

And with that, you can begin to heal. Theo is gone. You have to accept that. You have to sort out the tangle of emotions that you feel about it. But you’re not alone. Your friends aren’t going anywhere. The Beast has been defeated, and the danger has passed. As always, Scott has managed it. He’s saved you all, and protected the people he cared about. And he did his best to save Theo; as far as you’re concerned, he kept his promise.

For all his flaws, Theo wouldn’t want you to wallow in his absence. He wouldn’t want you to grieve, or give in to the darkness like he did. He’d want you to enjoy your time with your friends. He’d want you to live, to love. Or at least, that’s what the best part of him would want for you. The part you’ll choose to remember, choose to recall when you’re not feeling your best.

After all that you went through together, maybe you didn’t know Theo as well as you thought. Maybe you didn’t know him at all. But you choose not to believe that. Even though he was a flawless liar, you don’t think that everything he ever said, everything you shared, was a lie. There’s no way that what he felt for you wasn’t real, what you felt for him was unreciprocated. He may have been a mystery, but you solved parts of him, and those parts you revealed, you loved. You still do. With everything you have.

So you descend the stairs, stuffing the marker back into your bag and join your friends at their table. You look around at the others, exchanging glances, smiles, letting them know that even if you’re not right now, you’re going to be okay. This is how you want things to be. How you want to spend your time. Even if there’s a piece of you missing, you know this is the first step on the road to recovery.

With your friends. With your pack. Happy. Together. 

Safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end! Wow. Some chapters were a lot harder than others, but I think overall I've managed to stay true to the canon as much as I can whilst inserting our reader character in without upsetting things too much. If you've read this far, thank you very much!


End file.
